AS Film Studies: The Essential Introduction

▼ AS FILM STUDIES THE ESSENTIAL INTRODUCTION AS Film Studies: The Essential Introduction will give students the conﬁd...

Author: Sarah Casey Benyahia | Freddie Gaffney | John White

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AS FILM STUDIES THE ESSENTIAL INTRODUCTION

AS Film Studies: The Essential Introduction will give students the conﬁdence to tackle every part of the AS Level Film Studies course. The authors, who have wide-ranging experience as teachers, examiners and authors, introduce students step by step to the skills involved in the study of ﬁlm. Individual chapters address the following key areas: ■ ■ ■ ■ ■ ■ ■ ■ ■ ■

Film form Narrative Genre Practical application of learning Hollywood and British cinema Films as products Audiences as fans and consumers Stars New technologies and the ﬁlm industry British and Irish cinema

Speciﬁcally designed to be user-friendly, AS Film Studies: The Essential Introduction includes: ■ ■ ■ ■ ■

Activities Example exam questions Suggestions for further reading A glossary of key terms and resources Case studies

Sarah Casey Benyahia currently works as a Lecturer and Examiner in Film and Media Studies and is the author of Teaching Contemporary British Cinema (2005). Freddie Gaffney is Chief Moderator for Film Studies at A Level. He is also a screenwriter, filmmaker and Senior Lecturer in Location and Studio Production at Ravensbourne College of Design and Communication. John White teaches Film and English at Anglia Ruskin University and Parkside Community College in Cambridge. He is also an Examiner for A Level Film Studies.

The Essentials Series Series Editor: Peter Wall AS Communication Studies: The Essential Introduction Andrew Beck, Peter Bennett and Peter Wall Communication Studies: The Essential Resource Andrew Beck, Peter Bennett and Peter Wall AS Film Studies: The Essential Introduction Sarah Casey Benyahia, Freddie Gaffney and John White A2 Film Studies: The Essential Introduction Sarah Casey Benyahia, Freddie Gaffney and John White Film Studies: The Essential Resource Peter Bennett, Andrew Hickman and Peter Wall AS Media Studies: The Essential Introduction Philip Rayner, Peter Wall and Stephen Kruger A2 Media Studies: The Essential Introduction Peter Bennett, Jerry Slater and Peter Wall AS Media Studies: The Essential Revision Guide for AQA Jo Barker and Peter Wall A2 Media Studies: The Essential Revision Guide for AQA Jo Barker and Peter Wall Media Studies: The Essential Resource Philip Rayner, Peter Wall and Stephen Kruger

AS FILM STUDIES THE ESSENTIAL INTRODUCTION

Sarah Casey Benyahia, Freddie Gaffney and John White

First published 2006 by Routledge 2 Park Square, Milton Park, Abingdon, Oxon OX14 4RN Simultaneously published in the USA and Canada by Routledge 270 Madison Ave, New York, NY 10016 This edition published in the Taylor & Francis e-Library, 2006. “To purchase your own copy of this or any of Taylor & Francis or Routledge’s collection of thousands of eBooks please go to www.eBookstore.tandf.co.uk.”

Routledge is an imprint of the Taylor & Francis Group, an informa business © 2006 Sarah Casey Benyahia, Freddie Gaffney and John White All rights reserved. No part of this book may be reprinted or reproduced or utilised in any form or by any electronic, mechanical, or other means, now known or hereafter invented, including photocopying and recording, or in any information storage or retrieval system, without permission in writing from the publishers.

British Library Cataloguing in Publication Data A catalogue record for this book is available from the British Library

Library of Congress Cataloging in Publication Data A catalog record for this book has been requested ISBN10: 0–415–39310–8 (hbk) ISBN10: 0–415–39311–6 (pbk) ISBN13: 978–0–415–39310–2 (hbk) ISBN13: 978–0–415–39311–9 (pbk)

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CONTENTS

Figure acknowledgements Preface

xi xv

Introduction Going to the cinema 2 Can’t we just enjoy films? 2 Film Studies as a subject 6 What are films? 8 History, social context and politics 12 Hollywood and alternative cinemas 13 Conclusion 13 Further reading 13

1

PART 1 MAKING MEANING 1 (FS1)

15

1 Film form: What is film construction? What does it mean to say a film has been ‘put together’? Films mentioned 16 Mise en scène: setting 17 Mise en scène: performance and movement 19 Mise en scène: costume and props 23 Cinematography: colour 26 Cinematography: lighting 28 Cinematography: camerawork 31 Editing 35 Sound 38 Film form: overview 40 Conclusion 42 Further reading 42 Useful websites 42

16

v

CONTENTS

2 Narrative: Aren’t all films just stories? What is narrative structure? Films mentioned 43 Narrative 44 Plot structure 47 Narrative structure and the viewer 59 Stories and society 64 Conclusion 67 Further reading 67 Useful websites 67 Notes 68

43

3 Genre: What is genre and why it is such an important term in Film Studies? Films mentioned 69 Genre: the concept 70 Film noir 80 Conclusion 86 Further reading 86 Useful websites 87

69

4 Overview: How should we approach a film we have not seen before? Films mentioned 88 Questions 89 Proactive reading 92 A practical approach 92 Conclusion 94

88

5 Practical application of learning Cinematic ideas 98 The screenplay 101 The storyboard 105 Video production 107 Evaluation 113 Further reading 114 Useful websites 114

95

PART 2 PRODUCERS AND AUDIENCES: HOLLYWOOD AND BRITISH CINEMA (FS2) 6 Films as products The global and local dimensions 118 Hollywood 120 Studios 120 Films as commercial products 126 Adaptability of the film industry 127 Filmmaking: the process 132

vi

CONTENTS

117 118

Film production, distribution and exhibition 137 Overview 139 Example exam questions 140 Conclusion 140 Further reading 140 Useful websites 141 7 Audiences as fans and consumers The early cinema experience 142 Changing patterns of consumption 146 The role of the audience in the filmmaking process 147 Censorship and classification 153 Fan power 155 Industry power 155 Globalization 157 Example exam questions 159 Conclusion 159 Further reading 159 Useful websites 160

142

8 Stars – What are they and why do we have them? Your experience of stars 161 Stars: the concept 162 Example exam questions 174 Conclusion 174 Further reading 175 Useful websites 175

161

9 Hollywood back in the day and Hollywood today – Old Hollywood and New Hollywood Old Hollywood–New Hollywood: a simplification 176 Actors, directors and agents 178 Producers 179 Production: an overview 181 Distribution in Old Hollywood and New Hollywood 183 Example exam questions 193 Conclusion 193 Further reading 193 Useful website 194 10 Is the British film industry in any way distinctive and different? How does it cope with having to survive in the shadow of Hollywood? A distinctive and different cinema 196 Surviving in the shadows 199 Useful websites 200

176

195

vii

CONTENTS

11 New technologies in the film industry Film and technology 202 Film and changes in technology 204 Conclusion 210 Further reading 211

201

PART 3 MESSAGES AND VALUES – BRITISH AND IRISH CINEMA (FS3)

213

12 Introduction: What is the relationship between films and the everyday world?

214

13 The 1940s: The war and its aftermath In Which We Serve – summary 219 Passport to Pimlico – summary 220 National identity 223 Class, rank, and gender representation 226 Social and political institutions 228 Propaganda and the historical context 230 Production context 231 Example exam questions 233 Further reading 233 Useful websites 233

218

14 Swinging Britain: 1963–1973 Darling – summary 236 Performance – summary 240 London versus the regions 243 National/regional identity 245 Class, sexuality, and gender representations 247 Social and political institutions and the rise of youth 249 Production context 250 Example exam questions 251 Further reading 252 Useful websites 252

235

15 Passions and repressions Focus film: Beautiful Thing 256 Analysis of the opening of the film 258 Beautiful Thing and narrative structure 260 Messages and values: resolution in Beautiful Thing 262 Analysis of the final sequence of Beautiful Thing 264 Why does representation matter? 265 Suggestions for further work 272 Example exam questions 272

253

viii CONTENTS

16 Social and political conflict Focus film: Bloody Sunday 275 Political and Institutional contexts 276 Film language: the docudrama 279 Real events and narrative structure 281 Messages and values: identification and representation in Bloody Sunday 282 Comparative analysis: In the Name of the Father 287 Suggestions for further work 288 Example exam questions 288

273

17 Scottish cinema Local Hero – summary 290 Orphans – summary 292 Scottish genres 295 National identity 298 Class, regional identity, sexuality, and gender representation 299 Social and political institutions 301 Production context 303 Example exam questions 304 Further reading 305 Useful websites 305

289

18 Comedy Films mentioned 306 Defining comedy 307 Film and ways of seeing the world 308 Postwar comedies 318 Ealing comedies 320 Example exam questions 322 Conclusion 322 Further reading 322

306

Glossary Web resources Bibliography Index

323 334 336 339

ix

CONTENTS

▼

FIGURE ACKNOWLEDGEMENTS

i

ii

1.1 2.1

2.2 3.1 3.2 5.1 5.2 6.1 6.2 7.1 7.2

7.3

The UK Film Industry Source: Graphic by Grundy Northedge from the Guardian, 14 November 2005 © Guardian Newspapers Limited 2005 Reproduced with permission The Top 20 Films at the UK Box Office, 2004 Source: UK Film Council Statistical Yearbook 2004. Reproduced with permission of the UK Film Council Jude (Miranda Richardson) in The Crying Game Source: C4 / RGA The Writer’s Journey Model Source: Provided courtesy of Michael Wiese Productions, www.mwp.com Moulin Rouge Source: Twentieth Century Fox/The Kobal Collection The opening sequence of Scream Source: Dimension Films / RGA Publicity poster for Runaway Bride Source: Paramount Pictures / Touchstone Pictures / RGA Three storyboard video shots Source: Freddie Gaffney Three storyboard sketch shots Source: Freddie Gaffney The Ultimate Film Chart Source: Reproduced by permission of BFI National Library Star Wars Source: British Film Institute Timeline of cinema attendance Source: www.bbc.co.uk Facts in focus Source: Chapter 2 of the UK Film Council Statistical Yearbook, 2004. Reproduced with permission of the UK Film Council The British Board of Film Classification logos. Trademark and copyright protected Source: BBFC. Reproduced with permission

3

4

24 46

67 72 75 108 109 122–4 128 144 150

154

xi

FIGURE ACKNOWLEDGEMENTS

8.1 8.2

8.3 9.1 10.1 11.1

11.2

11.3

13.1 13.2 13.3 14.1 14.2 15.1 15.2 15.3 15.4 15.5 16.1 16.2 16.3

Publicity poster for Pirates of the Caribbean Source: Walt Disney / RGA The Top 20 Box Office Stars who have starred in movies that made more than $100 million Source: The Numbers www.the-numbers.com. Reproduced with permission Publicity shot of Gwyneth Paltrow Source: © Theo Kingman_Idols. Courtesy of www.idols.co.uk Vintage movie magazines Source: © IPC+ Syndication The Constant Gardener – a British co-production Source: Focus Features / The Kobal Collection / Buitendijk, Jaap Facts in focus Source: Chapter 10 of the UK Film Council Statistical Yearbook, 2004. Reproduced with permission of the UK Film Council Facts in focus Source: Chapter 11 of the UK Film Council Statistical Yearbook, 2004. Reproduced with permission of the UK Film Council US Theatrical Admission Statistics 1946–2004 Source: Reproduced with permission of Motion Picture Association of America Worldwide Research In Which We Serve Source: British Film Institute Scene from Passport to Pimlico Source: British Film Institute Scene from Passport to Pimlico Source: British Film Institute Darling Source: British Film Institute Performance Source: British Film Institute Scene from Beautiful Thing Source: C4 / RGA Scene from My Summer of Love Source: UK Film Council / BBC / The Kobal Collection Scene from Beautiful Thing Source: C4 / RGA Scene from My Summer of Love Source: UK Film Council / BBC / The Kobal Collection Scene from Beautiful Thing Source: C4 / RGA Scene from Bloody Sunday Source British Film Institute In the Name of the Father Source: Universal / The Kobal Collection / Jonathan Hessian Scene from Bloody Sunday Source British Film Institute

xii

FIGURE ACKNOWLEDGEMENTS

164

165

173 186 198 202

207

209

219 221 222 238 241 261 261 266 266 269 277 278 284

17.1 17.2 18.1

Local Hero Source British Film Institute Orphans Source British Film Institute The Full Monty Source: C4 / RGA

291 293 315

xiii

FIGURE ACKNOWLEDGEMENTS

▼

PREFACE

It wasn’t that long ago that the examining team for WJEC (Welsh Joint Education Committee) AS (then simply A Level) Film Studies could all sit around a small kitchen table, and that to study ﬁlm was seen as a ‘soft option’, often associated with a solitary enthusiast teacher. Now however Film Studies is offered in a rapidly increasing number of centres, is supported by a large examining team, and is rightly perceived to be a challenging, exciting, and life enhancing choice for thousands of candidates who take this subject each year. This book was conceived to offer advice and guidance to both student and teacher alike, and closely follows the most up-to-date speciﬁcation from WJEC (which comes into use in September 2006). Crammed full of film facts with easy explanations of terminology, case studies, activities, and sample exam questions, it is intended that it be used to support each unit of the course, and extend learning beyond the baseline for succeeding at AS Level, into concepts, techniques, and films that stretch and stimulate the mind. It has not been written as a ‘crammer’, nor to establish an orthodoxy or ‘canon’ of ﬁlms that are deemed worthy of study. Indeed the writers hope rather that it will act as a springboard for the reader in building the conﬁdence to apply the concepts contained within it to their own choice of ﬁlm, with no sense that American Pie or Layer Cake are any less use to the study of ﬁlm or have less to offer than Casablanca or Brief Encounter. Furthermore, the book reﬂects an underpinning feature of the WJEC speciﬁcation, that gives priority to the students’ point of entry as a place to build from rather than on to, thereby valuing any initial filmic knowledge they bring as the best place to start from. It aims to foster an approach to film that will enable the study of any film as a valuable artefact, and thereby encourage personal response, active research, the practical application of learning, and greater diversity in study, allowing interests and enthusiasm a place in education. We would like to express our thanks to Katrina Chandler (Development Editor, Routledge), Julene Knox (Picture Researcher) and Rosemary Morlin (Copy Editor) for their help in the preparation of this book. Thanks are also due to those colleagues and family members who provided invaluable support and understanding throughout; and to the staff and students of the Media and Film Departments at Colchester Sixth Form College and Cambridge Regional College for their helpful contributions.

xv

PREFACE

We hope you enjoy the selections we have made, the activities we have designed, and the explanations we have offered, and that we can usefully keep you company on your journey into the world of ﬁlm.

xvi PREFACE

▼

INTRODUCTION What is Film Studies? What does it mean to study films?

This introductory chapter: ■

■ ■ ■ ■ ■

puts forward the idea that studying ﬁlms will involve you in something over and above simply enjoying going to the cinema – what that ‘something’ is should begin to become clearer as you work your way through this book; suggests studying ﬁlms will involve you in taking a more analytical approach to your whole experience of cinema; highlights how important it is for you to be prepared to entertain new ideas about something that is perhaps already an important part of your life; offers an initial introduction to some of the activities you will need to be prepared to undertake if you are studying ﬁlms; suggests the sort of questions you might need to consider asking yourselves about ﬁlms; introduces a range of different writing skills required of Film Studies students.

NOTEBOX . . . This chapter will be directly relevant to the module FS1 – Film: Making Meaning 1 in that it starts to introduce possible ways of approaching ﬁlms. In particular it is directly relevant to what the examiners describe as ‘spectator study’, which is about how each of us watches and makes sense of films. More importantly though, this section should act as a general introduction to the whole idea of Film Studies allowing you to gain an overview of the subject and the sorts of things that are going to be asked of you before you begin work on the more speciﬁc syllabus requirements.

1

INTRODUCTION

GOING TO THE CINEMA Going to the cinema has been a pleasurable pastime enjoyed throughout the world for around 100 years. With a fast expanding DVD market it seems people are increasingly enjoying watching films at home, but even so the spectacle offered by the cinema experience continues to be appreciated as something distinctively different.

ACTIVITY . . . 1

How often do you go to the cinema? If possible, discuss this in groups. What seems to be the average? Who goes the most and how often is this?

2

Now, a perhaps more difﬁcult question. Why do you go to the cinema? Try to decide on a list that covers as many reasons as possible for you personally. If you can, discuss your ideas with others. Are there similarities or differences in the reasons given?

3

If you are in a class with others, in small groups try to decide on a collective list that covers as many reasons as possible.

NOTEBOX . . . We all enjoy watching ﬁlms, whether in the cinema or on TV. Cinema attendance, after many years of decline, is increasing each year and a new generation of ﬁlmgoers is appreciating the pleasures of the ‘big screen’, a pleasure which even a 30-inch TV set cannot provide. (Nelmes 2003: 1) (Note the double use of the word ‘pleasure(s)’ here, emphasizing the key factor determining why we watch ﬁlm and also why we chose to try to study it in more depth.)

CAN’T WE JUST ENJOY FILMS? Amongst some people who attend the cinema and/or watch DVDs on a regular basis there is a certain resistance to the idea of ‘studying films’. For people taking this approach, watching films at the cinema is seen as an especially intense form of entertainment that offers the chance of escapist fantasies that will only be undermined or devalued in some way by analysis. After-the-event discussion of the emotional experience offered by one ﬁlm compared to another is encouraged and indeed is an important part of the whole experience as far as these enthusiasts are concerned. The physical attributes (whether of strength or beauty or some other feature) of one star are readily compared with similar attributes in other stars. The thrills provided in one ﬁlm are assessed against the thrills provided in another. Discussion and debate over

2

INTRODUCTION

Figure i The UK Film Industry Source: Graphic by Grundy Northedge from The Guardian, 14 November 2005 © Guardian Newspapers Limited 2005. Reproduced with permission

3

INTRODUCTION

Harry Potter and the Prisoner of Azkaban

Bridget Jones: The Edge of Reason

The Incredibles

Spider-Man 2

The Day After Tomorrow

Shark Tale

Troy

I, Robot

Scooby-Doo Too

Van Helsing

Lemony Snicket’s A Series of Unfortunate Events

Starsky & Hutch

The Last Samurai

The Bourne Supremacy

The Passion of the Christ

School of Rock

The Village

Lost in Translation

Dodge Ball: A True Underdog Story

2

3

4

5

6

7

8

9

10

11

12

13

14

15

16

17

18

19

20

USA

USA/Jap

USA

USA/Ger

USA

USA/Ger

USA/Jap/NZ

USA

USA

USA

USA

USA

UK/USA/Mal

USA

USA

USA

USA

UK/USA

UK/USA

USA

Country of origin

10.03

10.06

10.31

10.50

11.08

11.56

11.90

12.60

13.26

15.15

16.49

17.98

18.00

22.82

25.21

26.72

32.27

36.00

46.08

48.10

Box office gross (£m)

315

96

433

376

46

418

430

81

452

458

489

447

504

504

429

504

494

504

535

512

No. of opening cinemas

2.20

0.80

2.95

2.74

0.23

2.72

2.72

0.41

2.21

5.43

3.55

4.75

6.02

7.55

7.32

8.77

9.75

10.44

23.88

16.22

Opening weekend gross (£m)

Twentieth Century Fox

Momentum

Buena Vista

UIP

Icon

UIP

Warner Bros

Buena Vista

UIP

UIP

Warner Bros

Twentieth Century Fox

Warner Bros

UIP

Twentieth Century Fox

Sony Pictures

Buena Vista

UIP

Warner Bros

UIP

Distributor

Figure ii The Top 20 Films at the UK Box Office, 2004 Source: UK Film Council Statistical Yearbook 2004. Reproduced with permission of the UK Film Council

Shrek 2

1

Film

the relative merits of one star over another, or one film over another, is endlessly recycled. However, engagement in an academic way with ﬁlm is seen as detrimental to the experience itself. Hopefully, as a ﬁlm student you will continue to enjoy these sorts of discussions with your friends since it will form an important foundation to your studies, but you will also be prepared to try out new methods of approach that will often involve being more analytical in your viewing.

ACTIVITY . . . ■ ■ ■ ■

On average how often do you watch ﬁlms at home: once a week, twice a week, or more? Do you watch on your own generally, or with others? And, if with others, is this family or friends? Do you usually view ﬁlms you have recorded from TV, rental DVDs, pay-toview ﬁlms, or ﬁlm channel ﬁlms? Do you discuss the ﬁlms you have watched with other people? If so, try to compile a list of the sorts of things you talk about.

ACTIVITY . . . 1

2 3 4

Write a short 250-word review of a ﬁlm you saw recently for a ﬁlm magazine or newspaper of your choice. Name the magazine and try to write in an appropriate style. Write a further 100 words describing who you were seeing as your target audience and how you were trying to write the piece. If you are able to, in groups exchange reviews and read those written by other people. Decide on the best one in each group to be read out to the whole class. List the features of the chosen article that as a group you believe made it the best. After the chosen articles have been read, try to compare the lists of key factors for these articles that each group has arrived at. Has each group used the same sorts of criteria or are there signiﬁcant differences?

No problem There is no problem with adopting an attitude towards ﬁlms that sees them as pure entertainment or escapist fantasy since pleasure is clearly an important part of the whole experience of cinema. Indeed, this is a part of the experience we will be seeking to emphasize and explore in some depth.

5

INTRODUCTION

KEY TERM

PLEASURE Films clearly give us pleasure in a range of ways, otherwise we would not watch them, and yet studying academic subjects is somehow often seen to be at odds with the idea of pleasure. However, since pleasure is the thing that beyond all else stimulates our initial interest in ﬁlms we should not dismiss it out of hand. In fact, the idea of exactly how ﬁlms provide us with pleasure will be a key approach to ﬁlm for us. The way in which ﬁlm gives pleasure is most apparent when we consider not just audiences in general but our own personal response to ﬁlms and yet it is so often neglected by those of us who wish to study film. Maybe this is because the concept of pleasure does not seem to sit well in relation to the idea of study. Or perhaps this neglect of the pleasure principle is to do with a difﬁculty in deciding how to study such a seemingly vague notion. However we view all of this, the concept is clearly important not only in relation to narrative structure but also in relation to the way in which human beings seem to be able to respond to the sheer aesthetic joy of colour, movement, light, shape and size and in particular changing colour, movement, light, shape and size. The best way to think about the ways in which ﬁlms create pleasure for an audience is to analyse our own enjoyment of films. Pleasure could be provided by (among other things) an exciting or romantic narrative, the escapism of identifying with characters unlike ourselves or by the visual pleasure provided by the big screen. Film Studies academics have spent a long time trying to explain the different pleasures experienced by ﬁlm spectators, particularly the enjoyment of aspects of ﬁlm which do not immediately seem pleasurable such as watching horror ﬁlms.

ACTIVITY . . . At this early stage in your studies, how would you describe the pleasures ﬁlm gives you? Try to list the variety of possible pleasures and compare your list with others.

FILM STUDIES AS A SUBJECT Using ﬁlms as pure escapist entertainment is one possible approach to ﬁlms, but as Film Studies students we are going to be concerned with considering a much greater range of ways of understanding and experiencing film. This will involve recognizing the complexity of our interaction with ﬁlm and acknowledging that there is no simple way of approaching film. Hopefully you are now beginning to gain some idea as to what Film Studies is and, perhaps, some inkling of what studying ﬁlm is going to involve.

6

INTRODUCTION

ACTIVITY . . . Before you read the rest of this section, put the heading ‘Film Studies’ at the top of a sheet of paper and take a few minutes to list all the things you would expect to be doing whilst studying film. Remember to take into account the sorts of things you have been asked to do so far. If possible compare your list with others.

You may have heard other people joke that Film Studies is just about sitting around and watching ﬁlms. Happily, it has to be admitted, there is a certain element of truth to this since it is clearly impossible to study a ﬁlm without ﬁrst watching it closely, just as it is impossible to analyse critically a novel without ﬁrst reading it carefully. However, there is rather more to Film Studies than this description suggests.

Questions we might ask ourselves Early in our investigation of possible ways of approaching ﬁlms it would be useful to ask ourselves exactly what activities we should expect to undertake in order to explore ﬁlms in a way that will offer more than immediate, easy entertainment. So, what does it mean to study a ﬁlm? Dictionary deﬁnitions of ‘study’ often involve the idea of ‘devoting time and thought’. So we could suggest studying film would involve spending time thinking about it; but how would we do this and what would we think about? What exactly are we supposed to be thinking about as we are watching a ﬁlm at the cinema or a DVD or video at home? Initial uncertainties might raise questions such as: ■ ■ ■

Are there particular ways of thinking about ﬁlm that we should be adopting? What should we be looking for as we watch these ﬁlms? How will we know if we have found anything worth commenting upon?

And then, if we do ﬁnd something we think is interesting how should we comment? ■ ■

Is there a particular sort of language, or range of critical terms, that we should be using? Or is this really nothing more than jargon and should jargon be avoided?

And, perhaps most interestingly, what is meant when people talk about ‘reading’ ﬁlms? ■

In what sense is the activity of watching ﬁlms akin to reading?

‘Reading’ films Reading is often defined as interpreting symbols in relation to intended meanings. So, in the straightforward everyday sense of ‘reading’, the symbols ‘c’, ‘a’ and ‘t’ can be combined in that sequence to suggest a certain type of animal that exists in our common, shared experience of the everyday world. The concept of ‘reading’ implies a

7

INTRODUCTION

shared language that is common to the writer and the reader and that enables messages to be transferred, or communicated. It also implies a shared world in some sense and a shared understanding of that world. Thinking about this we might wonder: ■ ■ ■

■

What symbols might we need to interpret when ‘reading’ ﬁlms? How will we know the intended meanings? Do we naturally go through this process as we watch films, or is this a special activity we are going to have to learn in the same way that we learnt to read books in our early years? Is it true to say that ﬁlms depend upon the existence of a shared language common to both the makers of ﬁlms and their audiences?

KEY TERM

READING This is a fundamentally important term in our whole approach to Film Studies. ‘Reading’ immediately suggests a depth of investigation and an intensity of focus that ‘watching ﬁlms’ simply does not convey.

ACTIVITY . . . How would you deﬁne this shared language that is common to both ﬁlmmakers and the audiences for their ﬁlms? In writing we obviously have words, sentences and paragraphs but what do we have in ﬁlm that might in some way correspond to these elements? If possible, discuss your thoughts with others. (Do not worry if your thoughts are rather vague and uncertain at the moment: the key thing is simply to start to think about the idea of ﬁlm as a language that we might be said to be reading as we watch.)

WHAT ARE FILMS? For the moment we will go no further in trying to answer these questions to do with the concept of ‘reading’, but let’s bear them in mind as we try to set out from a slightly different starting point. Let us begin by asking ourselves the apparently straightforward question: what are ﬁlms? To start we might suggest that they are stories recorded on ﬁlm by a camera to be shown in cinemas via projectors (although even this is becoming increasingly problematic as both the form implied by ‘ﬁlm’ and the outlets available for ‘ﬁlm’ are becoming increasingly diverse as new technologies multiply).

8

INTRODUCTION

Stories We could argue that stories, cameras and cinemas are likely to be some of the key elements in our investigation. In which case we would need to question the nature of stories: ■

What subject areas do the stories typically cover? Are there particular subject areas in which ﬁlm has shown special interest over the years? How are the stories constructed? Are there typical elements, often or always to be found?

■ ■

ACTIVITY . . . 1 2

Go through each of these questions and answer them quickly in note form. Discuss your ideas in small groups if possible and report back to the whole class. Try to add other people’s ideas to your initial notes as the discussions develop.

Cameras Let’s look now at the issue of cameras. ■

What are these cameras like and how are they used? Has the technology of cameras changed over time and how has this affected ﬁlms and the ﬁlmmaking process? What is the relationship between the director, the camera and the actors in the making of ﬁlms? What is the relationship between cameras, the real world and the ﬁctional world of stories?

■ ■ ■

ACTIVITY . . . 1 2

Go through each of these questions and answer then quickly in note form. Discuss your ideas in small groups if possible and report back to the whole class. Again, add to your own notes as the discussions develop.

(Once more, do not worry at this stage if you are rather vague and uncertain about how to answer some of these questions; the key thing is simply that you should begin to think carefully about the nature of ﬁlms.)

9

INTRODUCTION

Cinemas, or the ‘viewing experience’ Let’s now consider more closely the whole notion of cinemas: the strange idea of entering a darkened auditorium with a group of strangers to sit and watch projected images on a large screen. (Although, to emphasize the point once again, we need to be aware that this viewing experience seems to be changing with people increasingly turning to DVDs.) ■

What are cinemas exactly and what are the key elements to a cinema? To what extent have these always been the same? Who goes to cinemas and why do people go to them? Has the sort of people who go to cinemas changed over time? What is the experience of being in the cinema like and how has all this changed over time? How is the ﬁlm and the experience of watching it altered when we watch at home? Is the experience (and therefore the ﬁlm?) changed when we watch at home with others? And what if the ‘others’ are parents or alternatively friends of our own age? Does that alter the experience?

■ ■ ■

ACTIVITY . . . 1 2

Go through each of these questions and answer then quickly in note form. Discuss your ideas in small groups if possible and report back to the whole class. Add to your own notes.

NOTEBOX . . . Try to keep your notes for Film Studies together in one place and organized in such a way that you can ﬁnd speciﬁc topic areas as and when required. Above all, try to ﬁnd a few minutes after each session to go back over the notes you have made and the ideas that have come up. This will remind you of the key ideas and will help to ensure you have really taken them on board. So much to do with studying is really simply about organization; and above all, about organizing your time effectively.

Questions, questions, questions As we ask these questions about ﬁlm in relation to stories, cameras and cinemas more questions might quite naturally spring to mind. ■

Aren’t ﬁlms shown on television, video, DVD and the Internet now as well as in cinemas?

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INTRODUCTION

■ ■ ■ ■

And aren’t they shown not just on terrestrial television but via satellite, cable and pay-per-view? And so, how would watching ﬁlms via these different media change or affect the experience? And, are ﬁlms all stories? What about ﬁlmed documentaries, are they part of our study? And, where is the boundary between a ﬁctional story and a factual documentary?

In some ways this is moving into the realm of philosophical questions because we are going to be forced to ask, what fact and ﬁction are, what it means for something to be true to life and, indeed what truth is and how we recognize it. Soon the questions will begin to come thick and fast. ■ ■ ■ ■ ■ ■ ■ ■ ■

■ ■

Why are ﬁlms made? There must be a whole host of reasons, but what are they? Who makes them? We always hear about the stars and the directors, but who else is involved? How are ﬁlms made and what exactly does the process involve? To what extent is it a creative process? To what extent is it an industrial process? To what extent is it a commercial process? Why do we talk about different types of ﬁlm, like sci-ﬁ, horror, ﬁlm noir, thriller, melodrama, or western? What about these cameras: who operates them and who decides what to shoot and when? And then how do they decide the order in which to put the shots together, what bits of ﬁlm to use and what not to use? What is the role of actors? They seem to be accorded quite a degree of importance. What exactly is a star? How do you move from being an actor to being a star? For that matter, what exactly is a director? What does he do? Or, what does she do? I wonder if there have been many women directors? How many female directors do you know? And, who runs the production companies that make films and the chains of cinemas that show ﬁlms? And, what about the marketing and the advertising, who is responsible for that? We are constantly being subjected to it but who decides the level of publicity and advertising?

COMMERCIAL PROCESS A commercial process is one that is focused upon achieving a ﬁnancial return, in other words making a proﬁt. You should notice how both of these terms emphasize the idea of ﬁlms as being at the heart of a series of processes. These processes can be followed through for individual films and this will give us a greater understanding of the exact nature of ﬁlms and their place within our society.

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INTRODUCTION

KEY TERMS

INDUSTRIAL PROCESS An industrial process is one that is involved in the manufacture of goods that are being made for sale.

The more we consider the nature of films, the more it sounds like there is a whole massive industry of multinational proportions behind what deﬁnitely seems to amount to a massive commercial enterprise. ■ ■ ■

How does it operate both within individual countries and globally? Has it always been as big as it would seem to be today? Is it set to get bigger still or is it in decline in the face of new technologies?

NOTEBOX . . . Questions If there is one key to understanding the approach taken throughout this book this is it. As a Film Studies student (indeed as a student of any sort) you must be continually asking yourself questions and seeking answers. It sounds easy and only too obvious but adopting a questioning attitude demands real effort, commitment and above all, thought. If you can get this questioning and thinking approach right then everything else will fall into place.

HISTORY, SOCIAL CONTEXT AND POLITICS We are beginning to get somewhere. We have a whole series of questions, the answers to which would seem to form some part of finding out about film and the way it operates within the present context, and the way it has operated within a historical context. We also have the feeling that the more questions we ask the more we ﬁnd, with all of them taking us further into the subject and each of them seeming to demand some part of our attention. In fact, we begin to get a sense of the wide-ranging nature of the studies we are about to undertake. ■ ■ ■

Already we begin to realize that ﬁlms do not exist outside of a society and certain social relations. Already we begin to see that since we are dealing with an industry we are going to have to at least be aware of business and economic considerations. Already we begin to see films as products of particular societies at particular moments in their historical development.

But at the same time we are wondering about the contributions of directors and actors, and perhaps camera operators (or cinematographers, if we know the word). Clearly close investigation of individual ﬁlms is going to be necessary, but at the same time it is already looking as if we are not going to be able to ‘read’ ﬁlms in isolation but rather that we are going to have to see them to some extent at least within social, historical, cultural and perhaps even political contexts.

12

INTRODUCTION

HOLLYWOOD AND ALTERNATIVE CINEMAS Most of the ﬁlms we will be looking at in this book would probably be seen as representing the dominant Hollywood mainstream, while others might be seen as constituting art-house or alternative offerings. Most of the films we deal with will be American or British but we will also be considering one or two ﬁlms from other countries. So, we are going to need to be aware from the beginning of our studies that there have been different ﬁlm movements in history and that there are different national cinemas around the world, and also that each of these ﬁlm movements and national cinemas could be seen in some sense to be operating against the backdrop of a dominant Western cinema known as Hollywood. Sometimes there will be a strong sense of alternative cinemas being anti-Hollywood, but at other times the most powerful impulse will seem to be towards cross-fertilization between different cinemas (or approaches to ﬁlmmaking) and the Hollywood ‘norm’ or ‘standard’. CONCLUSION Studying ﬁlm requires us: ■ ■ ■

to ‘read’ individual ﬁlms carefully and thoughtfully; to recognize that ﬁlms are made and viewed in particular ways that can be studied; to be aware of the need to adopt a questioning attitude.

FURTHER READING Dyer, R. (1998) ‘Introduction to Film Studies’, in J. Hill and P. Church-Gibson (eds) The Oxford Guide to Film Studies, Oxford: Oxford University Press. Monaco, J. (2000) ‘Preface to 2nd edition’ in J. Monaco How to Read a Film: Movies, Media, Multimedia, 3rd edn, New York and Oxford: Oxford University Press. Nelmes, J. (2003) ‘Introduction’ in J. Nelmes An Introduction to Film Studies, 3rd edn, London: Routledge. Phillips, P. (2000) Understanding Film Texts: Meaning and Experience, London: BFI (Chapter 1).

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INTRODUCTION

PART 1 MAKING MEANING 1 (FS1)

Although each chapter here will have a slightly different focus in relation to the demands of AS Film Studies, taken as a whole this part of the book should work as direct preparation for the WJEC coursework module FS1 – Film: Making Meaning.

▼

1 FILM FORM What is film construction? What does it mean to say a film has been ‘put together’?

This chapter: ■ ■

outlines the four key areas of film ‘language’ denoted as mise en scène, cinematography, editing and sound; considers ways of analysing ﬁlm construction techniques.

NOTEBOX . . . This chapter will be directly relevant to your study of film form in FS1 – Film: Making Meaning 1 for the WJEC’s AS Level in Film Studies and will form vital underpinning knowledge for that part of your coursework described as ‘Written Analysis 2’. It will also help put in place vital underpinning foundations for all that you do in FS3 – Messages and Values: British and Irish Cinema. In addition the section on the ﬁlm Orphans could form a useful introduction to that ﬁlm as part of your study of British cinema.

FILMS MENTIONED If you are working your way through the whole or parts of this chapter you will find it useful to have watched Seven (Fincher, 1995) and helpful to have access to scenes, clips and single shots from at least some of the following ﬁlms: ■ ■ ■ ■ ■ ■ ■ ■

Lock, Stock and Two Smoking Barrels (Ritchie, 1998) Lord of the Rings: the Fellowship of the Ring (Jackson, 2001) Whale Rider (Caro, 2002) A Hard Day’s Night (Lester, 1964) Mildred Pierce (Curtiz, 1945) The Crying Game (Jordan, 1992) East is East (O’Donnell, 1999) Psycho (Hitchcock, 1960)

16

MAKING MEANING (FS1)

■ ■ ■ ■ ■ ■ ■ ■ ■ ■ ■ ■ ■ ■ ■

On the Waterfront (Kazan, 1954) La Haine (Kassowitz, 1995) Raging Bull (Scorsese, 1980) Schindler’s List (Spielberg, 1997) The Searchers (Ford, 1956) My Beautiful Laundrette (Frears, 1985) Visions of Light (Glassman, McCarthy and Samuels, 1992) Reservoir Dogs (Tarantino, 1991) Bloody Sunday (Greengrass, 2002) The Blair Witch Project (Myrick/Sanchez, 1999) Donnie Darko (Kelly, 2001) Jackie Brown (Tarantino, 1997) Russian Ark (Sokurov, 2002) The Killing Fields (1984) Orphans (Mullan, 1999)

What does it mean to say films are ‘put together’? What people mean when they use this phrase is that each of the ﬁlms we see in the cinema is built by using a few basic elements of ﬁlm construction. As a ﬁlmmaker you always need a setting or a location in which to ﬁlm and a cast of actors who will be dressed in certain ways and be expected to use certain props while delivering certain (usually) predetermined lines. You will also need a camera or cameras to film the action, and then some means of chopping up the resulting footage you have taken and putting it back together again in the order you decide suits the story you are trying to tell. Settings, actors, costumes, props, a script and the derived footage to be edited: out of these basic elements you will ‘put together’ your ﬁlm. Out of convention but also in order to evoke certain responses from your audience you might also add a music soundtrack. Any successful approach to the study of ﬁlm will depend upon coming to terms with the idea that ﬁlms are constructs that have been ‘put together’ by ﬁlmmakers from a series of common component parts that we can identify and name. To create a ﬁlm, ﬁlmmakers work with each of these individual parts; and so in studying any ﬁlm we can take it apart in an effort to see how and (most importantly) why the various bits might have been used in the particular way they have. MISE EN SCÈNE: SETTING Mise en scène is a French term that refers to a series of elements of ﬁlm construction that can be seen within the frame of the individual shot; perhaps the most obvious and all encompassing of these is setting.

17

FILM FORM

ACTIVITY . . . Consider the opening to any ﬁlm you have seen recently. What was the setting and why do you think it had been chosen? Was it appropriate to the ﬁlm and if so, in what ways?

If, as in the opening to Lock, Stock and Two Smoking Barrels (Ritchie, 1998), we find ourselves in an urban landscape of markets, small shops and lock-ups that is full of East End ‘wide-boys’ we know where we are in ﬁlm terms and begin to have an idea of what to expect. If, as in the opening to Lord of the Rings: the Fellowship of the Ring (Jackson, 2001), we find ourselves in a fantastical other world of grey volcanic mountains, expansive plains and vast ‘war games-style’ armies we know we ought to prepare ourselves for a different experience. The settings given to us during the openings to some ﬁlms may leave us with more questions and not place us within a particular world with quite the same certainty. Whale Rider (Caro, 2002), for instance, cuts between two very distinct settings within the first few minutes: there is the relatively straightforward naturalism of the hospital maternity ward, but there is also the fantasy-style, other worldly, underwater space. Nevertheless, these settings have been carefully and appropriately chosen to set us up for what we should expect from the ﬁlm. KEY TERM

MISE EN SCÈNE This is a term that is borrowed from the theatre and really refers to staging, or ‘putting on stage’. It sometimes helps to think of the elements that you can see in the staging of a play: a particular location will be suggested on the stage, characters will be dressed in particular ways, particular objects will be carried by characters or will be prominently placed on the stage, and the actors will be directed to move or perform in particular ways. These theatrical elements are the sub-section parts of the cinematic term; and this effectively reminds us of the way in which the theatre is a key element of ﬁlm’s cultural and artistic origins. Lighting (including the use of areas of darkness or shadow) will also be part of any theatre performance and is often also classiﬁed as part of a ﬁlm’s mise en scène since its effects can clearly be seen ‘within the frame’. However, this aspect of ﬁlm construction also links into cinematography (or the use of the camera). (Even those of us who have only taken holiday snaps will know the extent to which the correct lighting determines the success or failure of any photographic effort.) And this way in which lighting in effect straddles both mise en scène and cinematography helps to alert us to something very useful: the demarcations we are dealing with here are essentially no more than a convenient device for helping

18

MAKING MEANING (FS1)

us to gain an overall understanding of the range of techniques available to ﬁlmmakers for the creation of meaning. In a somewhat similar way, sound effects (to say nothing of the words themselves) will also be an important part of the total effect created on the audience in a theatre, but here with respect to ﬁlm we are dealing with these elements under the heading of ‘sound’.

MISE EN SCÈNE: PERFORMANCE AND MOVEMENT As with setting, the performance and movement of the actors (also part of mise en scène) can operate in similar ways to suggest possibilities for how we might understand given characters and relationships between characters. Characters sitting with their backs to each other present a certain sense of relationship, while characters moving towards each other and embracing clearly present a different sense of relationship. This much is obvious, but within the performance and movement between any two characters there is, of course, a limitless range of possible permutations.

Body language We need to be alert to the subtleties of such interactions, bearing in mind that each movement and gesture will have been decided upon in order to convey some meaning. Interactive movements involving two or more characters will have been carefully choreographed with attention to the details of body language that is designed to communicate a sense of character and/or character relationships to us, the audience. Once again, as with all aspects of ﬁlm construction, choices will have been made for particular reasons by those involved in the creative process and we need to ask ourselves why those particular choices might have been made. Often the reason becomes clear upon simple reﬂection. When in A Hard Day’s Night (Lester, 1964) (see FS3 British and Irish Cinema – the Swinging Sixties) the Beatles find their way out through a ﬁre escape and free themselves from the various entrapping room spaces in which they have previously found themselves the resulting change in their movements

19

FILM FORM

KEY TERM

PERFORMANCE AND MOVEMENT This refers to the acting that is taking place but the phrase also helps to deﬁne a little more clearly what it is we should be looking for: there is a performance going on and essentially it revolves around movement. These movements can range from the miniscule to the expansive, and can involve the whole body or the smallest parts of the body. Everything is included from slow movements of the eye to sudden running and jumping, and each can be ‘read’ in some way (or several possible ways).

is clear; they cavort wildly through the open, outside space, running, jumping and extending limbs in all directions. (And, lest we should miss the point being made through performance, Richard Lester uses fast motion to bring further attention to the sudden change.) The idea behind the exaggerated change of movement is obvious. They have found a momentary escape from a conﬁned existence, but it can be easily missed if we neglect the active thinking interaction with the screen images that is vital for Film Studies. The range of body codes Actors are able to generate audience response to their performance in a whole range of subtle ways. A range of ten body codes has been identiﬁed: ■ ■ ■ ■ ■ ■ ■ ■ ■ ■

direct bodily contact; the proximity of one character to another (or proxemics); the orientation of one to another i.e. the extent to which characters stand with their bodies turned towards or away from each other; general appearance e.g. tall and thin, or short and fat; head movements e.g. nodding or shaking of the head; facial expressions; gestures (or kinesics); body posture; eye movement or contact; aspects of speech, such as pitch, stress, tone, volume, accent, speech errors (all of which are termed paralinguistic codes). (Argyle quoted in Hinde 1972 and Fiske 1982)

You do not need to memorize these ten body codes, nor do you need to use any of the jargon associated with this list such as ‘proxemics’ and ‘kinesics’. It is useful, however, to have a series of areas such as eye movement, body posture, facial expressions, and so on to look out for as you are watching the performance of any particular actor. Performance and movement in Seven It is only when you look closely at actual examples of screen acting that you begin to realize the ways in which all these elements can be employed. There are, of course, countless examples that would serve to display a range of these elements of performance; but to take one example consider Seven (Fincher, 1995). In this ﬁlm there is a scene in which Morgan Freeman and Brad Pitt (playing two detectives who do not get on well) are together in the conﬁned space of an ofﬁce that Pitt’s character is about to take over from Freeman’s older character who is leaving the force. While they are cramped together in what is a small space made all the more uncomfortable by the fact that they do not really like each other (note the use of setting for a speciﬁc reason again) they receive a phone call from Pitt’s wife.

20

MAKING MEANING (FS1)

ACTIVITY . . . ■

If possible, watch this scene several times; and as you do consider: ■ the different ways in which the actors’ bodies are orientated in relation to each other; ■ the body postures adopted by both; ■ the facial expressions used by the actors; ■ any changes in speech patterns they employ; ■ the timing required for the delivery of the lines.

■

Note your thoughts on each of these points before discussing your ideas with a few other people.

By way of contrast, in the same ﬁlm you could consider the lines delivered in the grey, box-like space of the police interview room by the man from the brothel who has just been forced to commit the ‘lust’ murder. This is delivered in close-up but notice how the body posture remains important (and how the use of clothing in the shape of the white towel works to frame our attention on his face). Each movement of the facial muscles is intimately linked to movements of the eyes and to the carefully timed rising and falling voice pattern used to deliver the lines themselves.

ACTIVITY . . . Watch this second scene several times now; and as you do so consider the ways in which each of Arygle’s suggested ten body codes are being employed by the actor.

ACTIVITY . . . Choose one of the two scenes from Seven mentioned above and write a 600-word analysis of the way in which the acting performance is used to convey meanings to the audience and/or to generate particular emotional responses in the audience. You should work hard here to achieve as microscopic attention to detail as possible. Michael Caine has said ﬁlm acting is all to do with the eyes: prolonged looks or minute glances towards or away from some object or person can convey (obviously with the assistance of the camera) so much meaning. Again, we have a connection with the theatre but also a difference: through the use of the camera, ﬁlm is able to give the spectator a privileged close-up perspective on characters continued

21

FILM FORM

and events that is not available to either the theatre director or the theatre audience to use. Through the choice of particular shots ﬁlm is able to emphasize minute details of body language. Again, what we ﬁnd is that the demarcations we are setting up in order to help to give us a basis for ﬁlm analysis are in practice false: we are attempting to deal with performance and movement as a distinct area of ﬁlm construction but in reality it is intimately connected to camerawork, shot choice and composition, and the editing (or ordering) of shots.

To further illustrate the point being made above, watch the scene in Seven in which in the face of opposition from Freeman’s character, Pitt as Mills asks the police chief to be allowed to take over the whole case himself. Both his language and his gestures are brash and expansive but this air of confidence is reinforced by the use of low angle camera shots. Then, by contrast, when next morning Mills is given his own case involving the murder of a district attorney we are given an image of someone who is nervous and uncertain of his abilities. This is shown through Pitt’s performance especially the way in which he folds his arm across the top of his head to reveal an almost childlike vulnerability. But notice that this gesture is highlighted for us by the use of a close-up and our interpretation is further aided by the use of point of view sound as Pitt’s character enters the building that is used to give a sense of the isolation and pressure he is feeling. It is Pitt’s performance that gives us an understanding of his character as someone who displays conﬁdence but is in reality much more fragile and vulnerable, but it is his performance in conjunction with the use of camerawork, sound and editing (the juxtaposition of these two contrasting scenes) that is really at work here.

ACTIVITY . . . 1

2

3

4

Find two examples of your own that seem to you to show effective acting; one of a single character on her own in front of the camera and the second of two actors working together. Bring your examples to show to other members of the class. Screen your clips for a small group and talk them through your chosen performances pointing out how various effects are being achieved. (Make sure you also try to consider ways in which the camera and the editing process could be said to be working with the actors to achieve particular effects.) Working in the same groups choose one example from those that were screened showing two actors working together and attempt to recreate this scene with two members of the group taking on the required roles. If possible, use a camera to record the scene using the same shots as in the original. Edit your ﬁlm and then play the scene back to compare your version

22

MAKING MEANING (FS1)

with the original. (In order to do this you might need to storyboard the scene in an effort to get it as close to the original as possible. You should ﬁnd that the planning that is inevitably involved in the storyboarding process will save time in the long run and enable you to be more accurate in what you are trying to achieve. You might even like to have one group storyboarding and another trying to complete the task without going through this stage in order to enable you to compare and discuss the results.)

MISE EN SCÈNE: COSTUME AND PROPS Allied to the performance and movement of the actors, and still within the overall area of mise en scène, are considerations by the ﬁlmmakers regarding costume to be worn and props to be placed within a setting or used by a particular character. So, for instance, again taking Seven as an example, notice the way in which the two detectives Mills and Somerset are dressed differently right from the start of this ﬁlm. What do the differences in costume tell us about the two men? (You might also be interested in the way in which in the same film the ‘baddie’, John Doe (Kevin Spacey), is sometimes shown as being dressed in a similar way to Somerset – that is in a dark hat and long cloak-like coat. Why has this been done? Does it suggest something about these two characters, and if so, what?) In order to consider the differences between Mills and Somerset, you could look at the scenes in which we are shown the two cops dressing to get ready to go to work. If you do this, notice that it is not simply a question of the types of costume or props being employed but also the nature of the way in which the two actors perform the actions of putting on particular items or laying out particular items to be used. When we are shown Somerset getting dressed by methodically laying out items of clothing and picking up a series of again carefully laid out objects to put in his pockets we immediately know something of his personality and character. So, in trying to consider props we again notice that our convenient demarcations between elements of ﬁlm construction do not really hold up when we begin to analyse any given ﬁlm clip. It is the relationship between objects in the scenes discussed above and the performances of the actors (highlighted and brought to our attention by editing and camerawork, notice) that creates meaning.

23

FILM FORM

KEY TERM

COSTUME AND PROPS This refers to items of clothing being worn by characters and objects seen within any given setting. At its simplest, costume clearly acts as a type of uniform, linking a character to a particular group and often to a rank or position within that group. But costume can also ‘announce’ a character, giving an insight into what this person is supposed to be like, for instance shy or ﬂamboyant. At their simplest, props work to give an authentic sense of place, but can also be used in more complex ways to suggest important characteristics of particular individuals or even key themes for the whole ﬁlm.

Dress code and character It has often been pointed out that, when Joan Crawford taking the title role in Mildred Pierce (Curtiz, 1945) changes her clothes from stereotypical suburban housewife attire centring on an apron to power-dressing businesswoman-style suits, an important indication of her personal transformation of character is being presented to us. A similar alteration to character (although with vastly different outcomes) occurs in The Crying Game (Jordan, 1992) (this ﬁlm could be considered further under FS3 British and Irish Cinema – Passions and Repressions/Social and Political Conﬂict) in which the IRA operative, Jude (Miranda Richardson), adjusts her persona markedly from the ﬁrst half of the ﬁlm to the second and signals this change by a distinctive change of dress. In other words, costume has always been important in helping to create meaning for the viewer. In East is East (O’Donnell, 1999) (see FS3 British Cinema – Comedy) our awareness of Nazir’s change of lifestyle and assertion of his sexuality is reinforced for us by his new-found dress sense when he moves to Manchester.

Figure 1.1 Jude (Miranda Richardson) in The Crying Game Source: C4 / RGA

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MAKING MEANING (FS1)

NOTEBOX . . . In fact, the example involving the ﬁlm Mildred Pierce given above has been used far too often according to some film examiners and usually with little real understanding of the ﬁlm. So, important point: make sure you try to come up with your own examples for as many of the general ideas being given here as possible. Take away with you the general points that are being made in any ﬁlm textbooks and then make sure you try to apply the ideas to ﬁlms you know. In this way you will gain a much better understanding of the concept itself and have at your disposal an example that is fresh and exciting instead of stale and overused.

Props and character As regards props, consider the way in which books are used in relation to Mills and Somerset. Where Somerset studies the original texts in the calm academic environment of a library in order to try to understand the killer, Mills tries to read student guides to the texts but finds even these to be hard work. Or, consider the way that whenever he cannot sleep Somerset throws a ﬂick-knife at a dartboard. What does that suggest about his character because it certainly seems to add some sort of complication to our understanding of him as the orderly, emotionally controlled, academically minded cop? In a similar way, as Norman Bates leads Marion Crane into his parlour behind the reception area of the Bates Motel in Psycho (Hitchcock, 1960) we cannot avoid noticing the stuffed birds. There is the predatory owl in mid-swoop and then the ominously sharp beaked shadow of a crow, a harbinger of death. Nor should we miss in this scene the paintings of classical nudes on the walls: the female body displayed in all its naked vulnerability before the essentially male gaze. For the purposes of Film Studies we have to be intensely aware of all of this in an analytical fashion that is going to enable us to decide exactly how meaning is being created for us as members of the audience. Props as symbols In this way props or costume items can take on considerable signiﬁcance for the whole ﬁlm; they can in effect become symbols for some key idea or concept. In On the Waterfront (Kazan, 1954) when the ﬁrst person willing to speak out against the corruption in the docks is murdered, his jacket is symbolically passed on to the next person willing to do the same and ultimately to the hero, Terry (Marlon Brando). In effect, what is seen within the ﬁlm as the mantle of truth and justice is being passed from one to another. Similarly, in East is East, Sanjid’s parka, standing perhaps for an attempt by the character to shield himself from the pain of the world around him, has the hood accidentally but highly symbolically ripped off towards the end of the ﬁlm. In La Haine (Kassowitz, 1995) (this film could be considered further under FS5 Studies in World Cinema – Single Study Films) the key prop of the gun is symbolically handed over to Hubert by Vinz

25

FILM FORM

towards the end of the ﬁlm in acknowledgment of the fact that he has learnt something important both about himself and about the reality of gunplay. Once again, the prop takes on a role and signiﬁcance within the ﬁlm over and above its mere presence as a material object.

ACTIVITY . . . Watch the library scene from Seven or a scene from a ﬁlm of your own choice (or if you like, the parlour scene from Psycho) and write an analysis of the ways in which props are used to assist in the creation of certain potential meanings for us as spectators (500 words).

CINEMATOGRAPHY: COLOUR One of the key points to recognise as a Film Studies student is the way in which as spectators of ﬁlm our reading (or interpretation) of one strand of ﬁlm construction such as performance and movement, or costume and props, can be inﬂuenced or reinforced by the ﬁlmmaker’s use of further elements of visual language. The cinematographer’s choice (made in conjunction with others) of lighting and colour, for example, can clearly affect the ‘look’ of the film as a whole but can also influence our understanding of individual scenes. KEY TERM

COLOUR This can be used in highly artificial ways for particular expressive purposes as in the make-up employed by the changed Jude in The Crying Game, for instance, (where it would seem to perhaps suggest the danger of a femme fatale) or it can be employed in an effort to achieve naturalism by re-creating the colours of the real world.

Black and white The fundamental choice of colour or black and white may often be an economic decision but it may also be a more creative one: consider the use of black and white in Raging Bull (Scorsese, 1980) which looks back to boxing in the postwar period, or Schindler’s List (Spielberg, 1993) in which the story is set amidst the horrors of the Holocaust. When watching Seven there are many scenes where you almost have to remind yourself that this is a colour ﬁlm; greys and ‘washed out’ colours almost totally predominate in order to give a sense of this bleak, murky urban landscape. In the case of La Haine which looks at confrontations between the police and young people in and around Paris in the mid-1990s, a very deliberate creative choice has been made to screen this film

26

MAKING MEANING (FS1)

in black and white. The question we must ask ourselves is why this might have been done. How might this have been considered appropriate or ‘correct’ for the ﬁlm? There will be a range of possible answers but the key point is that we must ourselves ask the question.

NOTEBOX . . . Spielberg’s brilliant decision to film Schindler’s List in black and white is a key ingredient in the movie’s aesthetic success. . . . The lack of colour allows Spielberg to be explicit without becoming tastelessly graphic. Spielberg’s black and white also achieves a number of other coherent aesthetic objectives. It echoes newsreels and documentaries of the Holocaust made at the time, thus establishing historical context and a feeling of authenticity. Alan A. Stone, ‘Spielberg’s Success’, Boston Review (www.bostonreview.net)

ACTIVITY . . . 1

2

3

If possible, look at relevant extracts from some of these films and decide why you believe black and white might have been used on each occasion. As usual, if possible, it would be good to try to compare your ideas with those of others. Choose a ﬁlm you know that seems to use colour in an interesting way and pick an extract that seems to demonstrate an especially good example of the way in which colour works in this ﬁlm. Think about how you feel colour is contributing to creating meaning and generating audience response in your ﬁlm extract. If possible discuss your ideas with others.

Colour Most obviously colour as with bright lighting simply gives pleasure to the audience. Film literally can bring light and colour into our lives. Particular colours or tints can also be used to suggest (often through their association with the colours of the natural world) warmth or coldness, or particular seasons, or emotions. They can also be used symbolically, as for example in the use of red to suggest blood and danger, or passion and lust. One way to make this clear would be to consider the way in which colour is used in Seven. Look at the scenes in the brothel, the interview room and the library. Decide the dominant colours in each and ask yourself why each has been chosen.

27

FILM FORM

CINEMATOGRAPHY: LIGHTING In terms of the lighting for a ﬁlm the fundamental choice is obviously whether to use natural lighting or not (i.e. whether to ﬁlm outside or in the studio), but in reality even natural lighting will usually be supplemented by lights set up by the ﬁlm crew. The use of relatively bright lighting sources (high key lighting) as used in perhaps romantic comedies suggests a certain atmosphere or attitude to life that is distinctly different from that set up by the relatively dark lighting (low key lighting) used in ﬁlm noir, or a neo-noir like Seven. Similarly, hard light that is created by a narrow, intense beam of light and gives sharp-edged objects and shadows sets up a distinctly different mood than the soft lighting that is created by a broad, more diffuse beam that gives softedged objects and shadows. Possible sources of light Lights can be placed anywhere around, above or below the object being photographed. Consider a face lit from the front (front lighting), compared with a face lit from behind (back lighting), or from the side (side lighting), or from above (overhead lighting), or from below. Each will obviously create a different image and within the context of the particular film suggest something about the character being lit in this way. Overhead lighting for example can be used to cast heavy shadows, conceal the eyes and create an image of a face that is mysterious, sinister, perhaps conveying danger (a classic example of this would be some of the shots of John Wayne’s character, Ethan Edwards, in The Searchers (Ford, 1956) with the shadow of the brim of his hat putting his eyes in deep shadow). Or, sometimes the left or right half of a character’s face may be lit while the other half remains in shadow, perhaps again suggesting a person with darker and lighter aspects to their character. This is the case when we encounter the Daniel Day-Lewis character, Johnny, with the other members of his British National Party gang beneath the railway line in My Beautiful Laundrette (Frears, 1985).

ACTIVITY . . . ■ ■

Working on your own or with one or two others, ﬁnd a range of shots that light faces in interesting and perhaps distinctive ways. Try to decide how you think the lights must have been arranged to create the shots you have found. You might like to experiment with lighting arrangements to see if you can re-create the type of shots you have been considering. (Your equipment does not need to be sophisticated: simple torches will suffice to give some sense of the possibilities for casting shadows on the face.)

Lighting from below challenges the viewer by reversing all our usual expectations for lighting, which derive from the positioning of the sun overhead; we are used to facial shadows falling in a certain way and when this norm is disrupted we are disorientated

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finding that with which we are confronted to be strange and otherworldly. As with colour, lighting can be used in highly contrived, artificial ways to achieve particular purposes or in naturalistic ways in order to achieve in some sense a replication of the real world.

ACTIVITY . . . If possible, discuss with other people the ways in which you believe lighting has been used for particular purposes in any ﬁlms you have seen recently. Try to talk as accurately as possible about speciﬁc scenes in speciﬁc ﬁlms.

ACTIVITY . . . ■

■

Choose one ﬁlm that you know well that seems to you to use lighting in an interesting way and pick an extract that seems to demonstrate an especially good example of the way in which lighting works in this ﬁlm. If possible, show your chosen extracts to others and explain in as much detail as possible how you feel lighting is contributing to creating meaning and generating audience response in your ﬁlm extract.

(In order to make a good job of this you will need to practise your delivery. You are not aiming to give an in-depth talk but you should still attempt to be as professional as possible.)

Conventional lighting norms Most often in the ﬁlming of a commercial ﬁlm a combination of lighting positions will be used around the main subject. This will conventionally involve a key light (usually on an arc 45 degrees either side of the camera), a ﬁll light (giving softer lighting from the opposite side of the camera to the key light) and a back light (making the subject stand out from the background). But these are only general positions; more lights can be added or lights can be taken away. The angle at which any light is positioned in relation to either camera or subject can (obviously) be varied, and there is a choice of hard or soft lighting that is available for each lighting position. All of which begins to make it clear why the work of cinematographers has often been referred to as ‘painting

29

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KEY TERM

LIGHTING This refers to the various ways in which the light whether in the studio or on location is controlled and manipulated in order to achieve the ‘look’ desired for a particular shot or scene.

with light’. (This is a key phrase in the highly recommended film Visions of Light (Glassman, McCarthy and Samuels, 1992) which looks back at key cinematographers in Hollywood.)

NOTEBOX . . . As with every other aspect of ﬁlm construction so far discussed, we again notice not only how extensive the range of choices available to ﬁlmmakers is but also how critical these choices are to the creation of a particular meaning, or range of potential meanings, for the spectator.

ACTIVITY . . . 1

2

Watch the scene in Seven where the detectives, Mills and Somerset, go down into the brothel to investigate the ‘lust’ murder. If possible, discuss in detail with others the ways in which light and colour have been used in this sequence. Write a short piece (400–500 words) explaining the meanings you see as being created for the audience and the responses likely to be generated by the use of light and colour in this short sequence.

ACTIVITY . . . 1 2

3

If you have time, watch Visions of Light, stopping, rewinding and watching again any effects of cinematography that you ﬁnd particularly interesting. List interesting films (with dates), along with the cinematographers and directors who worked on them. What were the features of these ﬁlms that made you see them as interesting in some way? If possible, discuss the choices of interesting ﬁlms you have made with other people who have looked at Visions of Light. When these other people watched the ﬁlm did they identify the same clips, or different ones, as being especially interesting? Were you able to express clearly the reasons for each of your choices?

(The word ‘interesting’ has been used several times above. It is a vague word and usually you should expect to try to use language in as precise a way as possible. Try never to describe a ﬁlm as simple ‘good’, or ‘enjoyable’, or even ‘interesting’, but instead always attempt to suggest why you found it to be any of these things. As always, ‘why’ is our key word: by referring to details of ﬁlm construction you should try to identify exactly what it is about any film that makes it ‘interesting’ (or ‘good’ or ‘enjoyable’). The usefulness of such a vague word as ‘interesting’ here is that it leaves it open for you to come up with your own ideas.)

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CINEMATOGRAPHY: CAMERAWORK All of the elements of construction so far considered can inﬂuence the way in which we ‘read’ the visuals being presented to us; but, in addition, the ﬁlmmaker also has within her control the manipulation of our physical point of view through camerawork. The filmmakers can put us into positions that are comfortable or uncomfortable, dominant or weak, simply by deciding on the positioning and movement of the camera. If you have seen the well-known scene in Reservoir Dogs (Tarantino, 1991) in which the police ofﬁcer has his ear sliced off, you may have noticed the way in which the camera as it were ‘looks away’ at the actual moment of the cutting almost as if the whole thing is too uncomfortable or painful to watch. If you have seen the interrogation scene in La Haine in which two police ofﬁcers racially abuse and beat two of the central characters you may have noticed how, in contrast to Reservoir Dogs, a static camera is used, refusing us any respite from viewing what is going on. In this ﬁlm the ﬁlmmakers deny us the potential relief of looking away and yet by refusing this possibility they in fact only highlight how much we would like to turn our heads. The point is that choices that are made about the use of the camera are often made in order to create particular effects on the audience.

The only limitation on the ﬂuidity and mobility of the camerawork in any ﬁlm is the availability of the necessary technology to enable the desired effect to be achieved; and, in general terms, camera and lens technology has developed throughout ﬁlm history in such a way as to permit increasingly complex camerawork. So, for instance, new lightweight cameras (and sound recording gear) in the 1950s made it easier to take the equipment out on location. However, what you will ﬁnd if you get the chance to watch some clips from old silent ﬁlms is that even from very early in ﬁlm history cinematographers were devising imaginative ways of getting moving shots with these rather large, heavy wooden cameras. So, yes, available technology must to some extent impose

31

FILM FORM

KEY TERM

CAMERAWORK This clearly and quite simply refers to the work done with the camera in the making of a ﬁlm. However, the possibilities open to the cinematographer are anything but simple. Fundamentally, the camera can be positioned at any distance from the subject being ﬁlmed and at any angle to that subject. It can be turned left or right to follow a subject within a horizontal plane, or tilted up or down to follow the same subject in a vertical plane. It can also be moved at any speed towards, away from or around the subject, and this movement can be as smooth or as shaky as the ﬁlmmakers decide. In addition, lenses can be used to give the appearance of movement towards or away from the subject at any speed, or to make the image of the subject either sharper or more indistinct, or even to alter the appearance of the subject in the style of a fairground ‘hall of mirrors’.

limitations upon what can be achieved, but often it is the creativity with which available technology is used that is of most interest. (Please note: this is not to say simple camerawork is not possible, nor to suggest that simple camerawork cannot be at least as effective as complex permutations of distances, angles, movements and lens usage. Recall the example from La Haine given above.)

Distance and angle of shot By varying the distance between the camera and the subject, the cinematographer can employ anything from an extreme long shot (ELS) (often used to establish the setting and then also known as an establishing shot), to an extreme close-up (ECU) closing in on just part of the face. In between there are possibilities for a long shot (LS) giving a full-length character shot, a medium shot (MS) giving half a standing character, and a close-up (CU) giving a head and shoulders shot (and obviously all sorts of further slight variations within this range of possibilities). By varying the angle of shot the cinematographer can place the spectator in the position of looking down on or looking up at a character; alternatively, we can be positioned at eye level with a character in shot. If the editing suggests the camera is taking up the point of view of a particular character (a point of view shot, or POV) then again the angle can be used to create a particular impression of the character’s situation. So, a low angle POV shot might suggest a character was being overpowered by whatever was towering over her. Establishing shots Usually you will ﬁnd that each scene in a ﬁctional narrative ﬁlm uses an establishing shot; that is a shot that gives the setting in which the scene is to take place and enables the viewer to establish the spatial relationships between characters involved in the scene. But, although this is what might be known as the Hollywood standard and was certainly the expected norm throughout the period of Classical Hollywood, the practice of using an establishing shot has not always been followed by filmmakers. By omitting an establishing shot the viewer is put in the position of struggling to make sense of the relationship between the characters shown. We are effectively disorientated and this will be part of what the filmmakers are attempting to achieve; as well as perhaps defying the expected filmic norm and thereby challenging any presumption that there are certain correct (and therefore, certain incorrect) ways of making ﬁlms.

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ACTIVITY . . . 1 2

Choose a sequence from a ﬁlm you know that seems to use camerawork in a signiﬁcant way. In small groups show your chosen sequences to each other and explain in as much detail as possible how you feel camerawork is being used to contribute to creating meaning and generating audience response in your chosen extracts.

(In doing this you should expect to refer to distances and angles of shot, and you might like to use diagrams (perhaps as handouts or on an overhead projector) to illustrate your points. As an alternative, you might like to use members of the group to take roles within your chosen ﬁlm clip enabling you to move amongst them in order to demonstrate your understanding of how the camera has been used to ﬁlm the sequence.)

Camera movement The variations in terms of permutations of distance from subject and angle of shot are obviously endless; but in addition the cinematographer can also move the camera while taking the shot. This could involve panning to left or right to take in more of a scene or bring into view additional objects, or tilting up or down to create a similar effect. But it could also involve moving the whole camera along on a track (a tracking shot), or simply on wheels (a dolly shot), or even on a crane (a crane shot). And by using the lens on the camera the cinematographer can create further adjustments to the type of shot we see. She could zoom in to give more detail or out to take in more of the setting; or might adjust the lens to bring some objects more sharply into focus while leaving others blurred; or could employ deep focus to have objects from foreground to background all in acceptable focus. All sorts of combinations are obviously possible, so for example the camera could pan while tracking forward and rising up on a crane. Finally, shots could also be hand-held and therefore deliberately somewhat shaky. If you watch Bloody Sunday (Greengrass, 2002) (see FS3 British Cinema – Social and Political Conﬂict) one of the ﬁrst things that will strike you will probably be the distinctive use that is being made of the camera. We are familiar with shaky handheld camera effects from ﬁlms like The Blair Witch Project (Myrick/Sanchez, 1999) and tend to associate it with low budget ﬁlms. But what both of these ﬁlms demonstrate is that these sorts of uses of the camera can be employed to create very particular atmospheres and involve the audience in the experience in very striking ways. In both of these cases, you will probably be immediately aware that something different from what you are used to is being done with the camera. This highlights the fact that because we tend to be familiar with mainstream Hollywood films we do have certain expectations about how the camera will be used. Changes from the norm will be potentially challenging to us.

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FILM FORM

The extent of the range of camera possibilities The important point, of course, is that if the cinematographer and director as a team are ‘on top of their game’ then each permutation of possibilities will be carefully chosen in an effort to achieve a particular desired effect whether in the creation of meaning or the generation of audience response. Consider the elaborate camera movement forming the opening to Donnie Darko (Kelly, 2001) in which the camera seems to track past half-lit undergrowth before moving towards the central character lying in the road and circling him. There is then a cut to what at first looks as if it might be a point of view shot panning across the early morning skyline before the character stands and emerges suddenly into the foreground of the shot, half turns towards the camera and seems to smile, almost laugh to himself. Why has this opening camera movement been chosen? How does it work to introduce the ﬁlm and the central character, and in what ways is it appropriate for the ﬁlm and the character? How does it contribute towards ensuring the opening engages our attention? Or, what about the opening to Jackie Brown (Tarantino, 1997), what sorts of camera movement are being used here? If you get a chance to look at this you will see the way in which the opening tracking shot has been complicated by having the central character standing on a moving walkway somewhat confusing our sense of movement. You will also see how a low camera angle has been used in places to perhaps give a sense of a strong individual. Consider all of this for yourself and ask the same three questions as for Donnie Darko above: ■ ■ ■

Why has this opening camera movement been chosen and, how does it work to introduce the ﬁlm and the central character? In what ways is it appropriate for the ﬁlm and the character? How does it contribute towards ensuring the opening engages our attention?

There is much more that could be said about camerawork and many more terms that could be used, but the essential point to recognize is the range of possibilities that are open to the director/cinematographer. And also of course that every choice of position, movement, or lens will be made with the aim of creating some sort of impression on the spectator and generating some meaning. Film exists only in relation to those who are watching it. (This is a key point, perhaps the key point: do think about it carefully.)

NOTEBOX . . . Be reassured that knowing all of the technical terms here is not what Film Studies is really essentially all about. The important thing is to respond thoughtfully to the way in which the camera is being used to create potential meanings for you as a reader. Try to work out what the ﬁlmmakers are attempting to get you to feel and think about. These are the important things. Asking yourself why this or that technique has been used, this is the crux of the matter. Knowing the technical terms simply allows you to describe in a succinct, shorthand fashion the effect within the ﬁlm that you are attempting to focus upon.

34

MAKING MEANING (FS1)

ACTIVITY . . . 1 2

If possible, watch the opening to Donnie Darko, Jackie Brown and one other ﬁlm of your choice. Try to find time to discuss these scenes with other people, noting any particular aspects of camerawork you find interesting. Do not be afraid to play and replay these scenes as many times as necessary in order to try to see exactly how the camera is being used. You need to attempt to detach yourself from the narrative so that you are mentally in the position of watching over the shoulder of the cinematographer as the scene is being ﬁlmed.

NOTEBOX . . . The skill mentioned above of being able to detach yourself from the film and imagine you are on location with the crew as they are ﬁlming is immensely useful for Film Studies. Essentially it involves the attempt to try to imagine just how the shots you are being given as a viewer of the ﬁlm have been achieved.

EDITING After the ﬁlm has been shot in the camera it still of course has to be edited, and what you will have found whilst discussing camerawork is that it is actually almost impossible to talk about either of these two elements of ﬁlm construction in isolation. Editing gives narrative shape and coherence to the array of shot sequences recorded by the camera(s). This part of the process involves hours of ﬁlm that may have been taken being cut to what is as a matter of convention deemed to be an appropriate exhibition length: sometimes 90 minutes, usually around 120 minutes, and occasionally 150–80 minutes. As with much else connected with narrative ﬁlm, these lengths seem to owe most to the traditional time spans allocated for theatre drama, and apart from that there seems little reason for the choice of time span.

ACTIVITY . . . ■ ■

Choose a sequence of ﬁlm you know that seems to use editing in a signiﬁcant way to create particular meanings for the audience. In small groups show your chosen sequences to each other and explain how you feel editing is being used to contribute towards creating meaning and generating audience response.

35

FILM FORM

To use a long take, or a montage of shots Editing has been seen by some to be a key deﬁning feature of ﬁlm. For some theorists the long take involving ﬁlming a lengthy sequence of events without cuts has been seen to be the essence of filmmaking allowing the spectator to follow a whole scene as a privileged ‘presence’. (This idea was taken to its logical extreme in a ﬁlm called Russian Ark (Sokurov, 2002) which was essentially one highly choreographed long take.) For others who have come up with theories about the best way to make ﬁlms, cutting a variety of shots together in a montage that challenges the spectator to make meaning from perceived connections between the shots has been seen as the key to filmmaking. In practice most filmmakers recognizing that both cinematography and editing are useful tools of their trade have used a combination of these two possible extremes.

Case Study: The Killing Fields (1984) (Director: Roland Joffe. Screenwriter: Bruce Robinson. Editor: Jim Clark. Cinematographer: Chris Menges. Music: Mike Oldfield. Cast: Sam Waterston (Sydney Schanberg), Dr Haing Ngor (Dith Pran), and John Malkovich (Al Rockoff).) Camerawork and editing There is an interesting scene in this ﬁlm around the point where Pol Pot’s rebel communist forces are entering the outskirts of Phnom Pen. The journalist, Sydney Schanberg, whose story we are following ﬁnds himself in a Coca-Cola warehouse and the ‘camera-eye’ (from a privileged viewer’s position) becomes involved in trying to make sense of the situation. Initially it calmly surveys the scene taking in the irony of the expulsion of American inﬂuence from this country occurring in the midst of so much bottled essence of American Dream. As soon as the ﬁrst explosion takes place, however, perhaps signiﬁcantly shattering the fragile glass bottles, the camerawork becomes increasingly frantic and the editing from shot to shot much quicker. Thus the sudden confusion of the situation is reinforced and the spectator ﬁnds herself having to work at an increased pace to take in all the images being thrown in front of her. Images of Coca-Cola dispenser-machines and lorries (first of all relatively intact even if broken but later being blown up) continually intrude inter-cut with shots of child soldiers, lost or abandoned toddlers screaming, and cattle in their death throes. East and West are continually juxtaposed, the West in the shape of high-tech weapons and Coca-Cola and the East in the shape of a low-tech Cambodian bullock-cart way of life. Coca-Cola is the symbol, perhaps, of Western capitalism, the American way of life, multinational globalization of trade, and American imperialism. We note the American soldier’s introduction of himself as ‘Made in the USA’ as well as the way he enters at speed, in a jeep, sounding the horn. However, more powerfully than anything else because of the editing the spectator notices the presence of children in this

36

MAKING MEANING (FS1)

extract: this is an indictment of war, and of what war does to ordinary people and to children and the innocence of children. These children have guns instead of toys: see the carefully composed shot of the child-soldier ﬁring above a dead child and the ﬁnal shot of the child crying with his hands over his ears. Through the juxtaposition of a series of shots, additional meaning is produced (although the exact nature of that meaning is highly dependent upon the work being done in terms of interpretation by the viewer). (Although this look at The Killing Fields has been sub-titled ‘camerawork and editing’ you will have noticed that the reality is that we cannot divorce these elements of film construction from mise en scène (setting, performance and movement, costume and props) and we certainly cannot divorce all of this from the way in which ﬁlm continually works to create meaning for us.)

Editing tools and ‘tricks’ Editors can use straight cuts so that we are instantaneously transported from one shot to another. Or they can use ‘fades’ where the shot fades out to a blank screen (and fades in to the next shot from a blank screen), or ‘dissolves’ where through superimposition one shot dissolves into another; or a range of other less used transitions. They can aim to maintain continuity through using cause and effect, ensuring each shot has a ‘cause’ in the previous shot and an ‘effect’ in the following shot. Or they can construct a discontinuous sequence that disorientates viewers and makes them ‘work’ to make sense of the series of images with which they are confronted. At all times the juxtaposition of shots will be vital to the creation of meaning with one shot in some way ‘commenting on’ or adjusting the potential meaning of the previous shot. Editing and time It is via editing that film is able to transport the spectator through space and time, allowing a flashback to a previous temporal and spatial dimension (and even flash forward to the future) to take place or permitting movement (cross-cutting) between parallel actions taking place contemporaneously. In La Haine the ﬁlmmakers need to show the boredom of everyday life for young unemployed people living in the workingclass satellite towns around Paris: a single static shot of our three central characters sitting equidistant from each other in a bleak, waste area is held for some time and then a ﬂash-forward edit is used to a shot of the same three characters in the same space but occupying slightly different positions within the frame. It is the combination of holding the initial shot for longer than we might normally expect and then using a distinctive editing cut that ensures the required meaning is conveyed clearly and effectively to the viewer.

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FILM FORM

SOUND What we have considered so far in this chapter are those aspects of ﬁlm construction dealing with the visual aspects of ﬁlmmaking, but there is of course a further obvious dimension to ﬁlm, that of sound. This might be said to operate today on three levels; that is via dialogue, sound effects and musical accompaniment.

ACTIVITY . . . ■ ■

Find a scene in a ﬁlm that you know where a range of types of sound seem to you to be used particularly effectively. In small groups screen your chosen scenes and explain why you think the ﬁlmmakers have chosen to use sound in these ways at this point in their ﬁlm. In particular try to explain how you think the particular uses of sound found in your ﬁlm extract contribute to meaning and enhance audience response.

The uses to which sound can be put range from merely enhancing a sense of realism to helping to suggest quite subtle aspects of character or theme. In a sequence from Seven mentioned earlier, the younger detective, Mills, is allocated his own murder case to work on after displaying great confidence in the police chief’s office (low angle camera shots, for example, adding to a sense of his personal assurance in this scene). However, when he arrives at the scene of the murder and walks in, we follow him and the sound we are given is what might be described as ‘point of view’ sound, the indistinct, half-audible voices of those around him. It is this distinctive use of sound (added to several other aspects of ﬁlm construction such as performance and editing) that gives the viewer the idea that Mills is in fact not as conﬁdent as his ‘performance’ in the police chief’s ofﬁce might have suggested.

NOTEBOX . . . Silent cinema The period stretching from the start of cinema in the mid-1890s to about 1930 has come to be known as silent cinema; although, in fact, it was no such thing with live musical accompaniment being the order of the day from early on. In creative terms this music, provided by anything from a single piano to a larger array of instruments, added meaning by, for example, enhancing dramatic or romantic moments, and in practical terms it drowned out any accompanying mechanical noises from the projector.

Sound: dialogue Clearly dialogue (which may include a narrator’s voiceover) is now an important part of ﬁlm and vital to our perception and understanding of the narrative. It makes a critical

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contribution to the way in which we gauge who the characters are, what they are like, what they have done, what they are going to do and what their relationship might be to others in the ﬁlm. But dialogue is also often critical in alerting us to any wider ideas or themes that might be dealt with by the ﬁlm. So, in the extract considered above from The Killing Fields, although it was minimal, dialogue contributed to our awareness of the importance for the ﬁlmmakers of the theme of American imperialism and globalization of trade, with the American ofﬁcer using the very distinctive phrase ‘made in the USA’ to describe himself. In La Haine the word ‘killer’ comes back time and again, particularly as a way of describing the punch-line to a story, and in the light of the ﬁlm’s ending this usage takes on a special resonance. Sound: sound effects In addition to dialogue there are also sound effects. These can be used simply to enhance a realistic sense of place as in the use of trafﬁc noise for a city street setting. However, they may move beyond this and work to engage heightened audience response and expectation as in the sound of the kitchen knife being drawn from its holder in the opening to Scream (Craven, 1996). Or, to return to our trafﬁc noise, look at Seven to see how the noise of the city as this oppressive, intrusive presence is always there in the background. In La Haine you will find that the sound of the metro train running on its tracks which might be seen simply to add to a sense of realism is in fact also used at the start of the ﬁnal sequence to echo what is perhaps the key recurring sound effect in the ﬁlm, that of a clock ticking. Sound: background music There is also the possibility of using background music that does not arise realistically out of the imagined world on screen to give a sense of mood or atmosphere. If you ever have people suggesting film is a naturalistic medium you could alert them to this sort of use of music in ﬁlm. (Where are the violins, is it just me who is not hearing them!) And, it is important to remember of course that silence, the absence of sound, can be used just as effectively (sometimes more effectively) to create audience engagement.

ACTIVITY . . . ■ ■

Find a scene in a film that you know where silence seems to be used particularly effectively. In small groups screen your chosen scenes and explain why you think the ﬁlmmakers have chosen to use silence at this point in their ﬁlm and how you think it contributes to meaning and enhances audience response.

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FILM FORM

FILM FORM: OVERVIEW Filmmakers use a vast array of strategies for communicating ideas and/or emotions. These revolve around the use of various settings, the presentation of character, the application of a range of camera techniques, the editing of shots into particular scenes and sequences, and the use of sound. Each of these strategies is used to influence our perception of events as shown and deliberately suggest ways of making sense of any ﬁlm. Awareness of the techniques being used and careful consideration of the effects that might be achieved by the application of these techniques is perhaps the fundamental skill required by anyone wishing to study ﬁlm since it enables us to either accept or reject the suggested meanings that seem to be on offer.

ACTIVITY . . . 1

2 3

Watch the whole of any ﬁlm mentioned earlier in this chapter; and then, with a group of others if possible, choose one sequence of no more than seven minutes to analyse in detail. Spend time as a group discussing how your chosen sequence works in terms of its use of mise en scène, cinematography, editing and sound. Individually write a commentary (1,000–1,200 words) discussing the ways in which one or two of these areas of ﬁlm construction work to create meaning and generate audience response in your chosen sequence. Give your piece of writing a title in the form of a question:

How do mise en scène and/or cinematography and/or sound and/or editing work to create meaning and generate audience response in the (name or timing of scene) scene in (name of ﬁlm)?

Case Study: Orphans (1999) (Director: Peter Mullan. Producer: Frances Higson. Scriptwriter: Peter Mullan. Cast: Michael (Douglas Henshall); Thomas (Gary Lewis); John (Stephen Cole); Sheila (Rosemarie Stevenson); Tanga (Frank Gallagher).) This ﬁlm is a focus ﬁlm for the section on Scottish cinema in the WJEC exam on British and Irish cinema. The opening sequence offers an interesting contrast in camera movement and carefully directed understated performances from the actors. In the initial shot we are shown a series of objects before a hand comes in from the right to pick up a pair of scissors. In ﬁlm terminology this is an example of props being used for particular effects. What is our reaction to each of these items and how does starting like this make the spectator feel? Is the response different

40

MAKING MEANING (FS1)

on a ﬁrst viewing compared with subsequent viewings, and if so how? There are a lot of items here. Make sure you identify each of them and consider their signiﬁcance. It is only after this series of shots that there is a cut to a shot of the room in which these objects are to be found and we gain some impression of the four main characters. How do we view these characters in relation to the previous panning shot of the objects? In other words, how does this cut work? What response does it gain from the audience? Again, does our understanding change or develop on subsequent viewings, and if so in what way(s)? How do we initially respond to each of the main characters and what is it about them that makes us respond in this way? Notice at this point the role that casting might be said to play in the process of creating meaning and how important dress, appearance, body language and the smallest of movements can be in creating understanding. How does camera movement contribute to creating meaning at this stage? How would you describe the camera movement and how does it make the audience feel? What is the effect on the audience of the central prop in the room and how is the camera movement appropriate for a scene involving this sort of prop? How do we feel as the scissors are passed round? How does each character use the scissors and what does this tell us about each? At each point notice the responses of the other actors as well as the particular character with the scissors. In what order are the scissors passed around and why? When the haircutting is over how do we respond to Sheila’s request to kiss her mother and the way in which Michael and John lift Sheila? How do we feel as an audience at this point? (Remember that we could feel several emotions at any one point in a film and that it is even possible that these emotions could be contradictory.) How are the ways in which each of the characters performs the kissing individualized? What about the things each character has to say during this time round the cofﬁn? How are the lines both in terms of content and delivery appropriate for each character? What other sounds apart from the characters talking are used in this scene, and why? When we move to the next shots of the box, how do we feel as an audience, and why do we feel this? Then, when we cut to the four siblings again, how are they arranged in relation to each other and in what ways might this be signiﬁcant? How would you describe the camera movement at this point and in what way could it be considered as appropriate and contributing meaning to the scene? How does sound now begin to work? How would you describe the following elaborate camera movement and why has it been chosen? How do the colours change at this point and why has the change been chosen by the ﬁlmmakers? How do the colours used at this point contrast with the earlier shots around the cofﬁn? In what ways are the mother’s words and the setting given to this ﬂashback scene appropriate? What other sounds can you hear in the scene and why have they been chosen?

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FILM FORM

Using the notes you have made in response to these questions write an analysis of the ways in which ﬁlm language creates meaning in the opening sequence of Orphans (1,000–1,500 words).

CONCLUSION ■ ■ ■

A ﬁlm is constructed from the mise en scène, cinematography, editing and sound. The possible combinations of these elements available to ﬁlmmakers are endless. In analysing ﬁlm we can dissect these chosen uses to understand how meaning is created in ﬁlm.

FURTHER READING Bordwell, D. and Thompson, K. (2000) Film Art: An Introduction, New York: McGraw Hill (Chapters 5, 6, 7 and 8). Lacey, N. (2005) Introduction to Film, Basingstoke and New York: Palgrave Macmillan (Chapter 1). Nelmes, Jill (ed.) (2003) An Introduction to Film Studies, London: Routledge (Chapter 4). Phillips, W.H. (2005) Film: An Introduction, 3rd edn, Boston: Bedford/St Martin’s (Chapters 1, 2, 3 and 4). Roberts, G. and Wallis, H. (2001) Introducing Film, London: Arnold (Chapters 1, 2 and 3).

USEFUL WEBSITES www.bfi.org.uk www.filmeducation.org

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MAKING MEANING (FS1)

▼

2

NARRATIVE

Aren’t all films just stories? What is narrative structure?

This chapter: ■ ■ ■ ■ ■

explains the terms ‘narrative’ and ‘narrative structure’; examines the role of the narrator; explores the importance of stories in our everyday life; outlines the expected or common features of stories; considers ways in which we as viewers read ﬁlm.

NOTEBOX . . . This chapter will be directly relevant to the section on ﬁlm form in FS1 – Film: Making Meaning 1 of the WJEC’s AS in Film Studies and will help to form part of the necessary underpinning knowledge for one of the two required pieces of analytical coursework.

FILMS MENTIONED If you are working your way through the whole or parts of this chapter you will ﬁnd it useful to have watched Seven (Fincher, 1995) and perhaps Run Lola Run (Tykwer, 1999), and helpful to have access to scenes, clips and single shots from at least some of the following ﬁlms: ■ ■ ■ ■ ■ ■ ■

Pulp Fiction (Tarantino, 1994) Lock, Stock and Two Smoking Barrels (Ritchie, 1998) Lord of the Rings: the Fellowship of the Ring (Jackson, 2001) Four Weddings and a Funeral (Newell, 1994) Casablanca (Curtiz, 1942) High Noon (Zinnemann, 1952) Billy Elliot (Daldry, 2000)

43

NARRATIVE

■ ■ ■ ■ ■

La Haine (Kassowitz, 1995) Ratcatcher (Ramsey, 1999) The Matrix (Wachowski, 1999) Donnie Darko (Kelly, 2001) Strike (Eisenstein, 1924) Moulin Rouge (Luhrmann, 2001).

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ACTIVITY . . . 1

2

Summarise in 100–200 words the story of any ﬁlm you have seen recently. Make sure you mention each of the central characters succinctly and that you give a clear sense of the beginning, middle and end of the story. Exchange your synopsis with someone else, if possible, and read each other’s. Discuss the two pieces of work looking for differences and similarities of approach. Which one strikes you on a ﬁrst impression as telling the story more effectively? What are the features of this piece of writing that seem to make it an effective re-telling of the ﬁlm’s storyline? Does it follow a logical order? Is it using shorter, sharper sentences conveying information in a simple, straightforward way?

(The skill of being able to re-tell the central narrative for a film in just a few hundred words will be necessary when you take on your third piece of coursework, completing the storyboard or screenplay for a short scene within an imagined ﬁlm.)

NARRATIVE Usually, although not always (we could consider documentaries, for example) our concern in studying ﬁlm will be with works of ﬁction, narratives with characters and a setting that are told to us in some way and claim in some way to represent the world to us. Given that this is the case we are going to need to consider the fundamental nature of narratives, or stories, and the role and use to which they are put within human society. To begin with, it might be worth noting that narrative seems to be integral to human experience of the world. We constantly use stories (and it seems we have always done so) to make sense of and to create meaning out of our otherwise chaotic experiences. In telling stories we give order and shape to a series of events.

44

MAKING MEANING (FS1)

ACTIVITY . . . ■

■

■

In pairs tell each other the story of your life. (Before you do this you will need to plan it a little: write down the things you want to tell the other person and put them into an order you think is suitable and effective. You should only tell your stories to each other when you are absolutely sure you have shaped them as you want to.) Remember things like the need to immediately engage the interest of the person to whom you are telling your story, the importance of retaining that person’s attention and the need to put things into an order that will enable the listener to make sense of what has happened to you during your life. (Notice as well that you have only been asked to tell the other person things you want to let them know.) One ﬁnal condition: there is a time limit of ten minutes on the length of your story. (Notice there seems to be some unwritten rule about the length of ﬁlms you watch in the cinema: they almost always seem to run from 90 to 120 minutes. Why is this? What factors could have determined this length?)

Narrative structure Narratives can be seen as particular arrangements of events within a structure. This structure may be the simplest one of relating events in chronological order, or it might be more complex. It could, for instance, involve the use of parallel episodes that form a deliberate contrast to each other, or the repetition of events seen from different perspectives, or the integration of symbolic events or images used in order to create signiﬁcance.

If there is no apparent relation between the events in a ﬁlm, it is without plot (that is there is no sense of a controlling order having been imposed on events) and it may be that what is being represented to us is the chaotic nature of human experience, or a lack of meaning in the universe. (Or perhaps we are dealing with a surrealist who aims to delve into the unconscious or the subconscious.) But such lack of structure is extremely rare, and not something that will be found in mainstream cinema. The very nature of storytelling is essentially that of giving order to events. Even if the structure is extremely complex involving unexpected time-shifts and demanding that the viewer should keep elements of the story on hold until the bigger picture becomes clearer (think of Tarantino’s Pulp Fiction (1994), for example, if you know it), order and shape will eventually be found. Indeed, the sense of achievement that

45

NARRATIVE

KEY TERM

PARALLEL EDITING This refers to moving back and forth between two or more narrative lines of action supposedly occurring at the same time.

THE WRITER’S JOURNEY MODEL

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hr es Te ho st ld s, Al l ies Ap ,E pr oa ne ch m ies to Su In pr m em os e tC Re Or av de wa e al rd (S Th eiz e in Ro g th ad e Re Sw Ba su c or k rre d) ct io n Re tu rn wi th th e El ixi r

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ACT I

ACT II

ACT III

Figure 2.1 The Writer’s Journey Model Source: Provided courtesy of Michael Wiese Productions, www.mwp.com comes from eventually recognizing and understanding the shape and form of the narrative is one of the pleasures offered by ﬁlm. Through narrative we are reassured that any events that may happen are not random, and that the world we face is not a place of chaos but one of order.

NOTEBOX . . . How did you structure your story when you told it to your partner? How did you choose the order in which to relate events? Which events did you choose to include and why? Which events did you leave out and why? What effect did the time limit have on your choices? However you chose to do this, you will have been making choices in order to give structure i.e. shape and signiﬁcance to the random, chaotic ongoing stream of events that have actually been the reality of your life.

The role of the narrator Narration requires a narrator, someone (or more than one person) who tells the story. If you watch the opening to two ﬁlms as different as Lord of the Rings: the Fellowship of the Ring (Jackson, 2001) and Lock, Stock and Two Smoking Barrels (Ritchie, 1998) you will ﬁnd both use the device of having a formal narrator’s voice. However, often the narrator’s

46

MAKING MEANING (FS1)

role is in effect fulﬁlled by the ﬁlmmakers who position themselves outside the story and decide what to include, what not to include and the order in which to place events. It is they who are narrating the story for us, but we will usually be barely aware of the ﬁlmmakers’ presence as narrator. If, as with Fellowship of the Ring and Lock, Stock and Two Smoking Barrels, the device of a narrator as a character or presence within the ﬁlm itself is used, it may be more obvious that the narrator has a particular perspective on events. If such a narrator is also a character within the story it will be clear that this person will see things from a certain perspective and will have their own relationship to events and characters. If an internal narrator is positioned outside of the main story and appears to be telling us what happened in an apparently objective way he may be reliable or he may be unreliable. The key point is that as readers of films we always need to ask ourselves who the narrator might be, what he can know and cannot know about events within the narrative, and what his or her perspectives might be on any narrative event. For example, consider again the ending to Seven. Why have the ﬁlmmakers decided to use Somerset’s voiceover narration at this point?

ACTIVITY . . . ■

■ ■

Try to ﬁnd a contemporary ﬁlm of your own choice that uses a narrator. What is her/his relationship to events shown in the story and how reliable a narrator should we take her/him to be? Are we expected to unquestioningly adopt her/his perspective on events, and if so should we be happy to do so? How difﬁcult is it to adopt a perspective outside of this narrator’s viewpoint? If it is difﬁcult, what makes it hard to achieve? Explain your ﬁlm’s use of a narrator (or narrators) to other people in a group, but only after you are absolutely clear as to your answers to the questions above. Do people who know the ﬁlm agree with your analysis? If not, what did they disagree with you about?

PLOT STRUCTURE The story is the basic chronological order of events: the plot is the rearranged, highly selected chain of events in the ﬁlm that has been given its own internal logic. By using narrative’s ability to move backwards and forwards through time and space and rearranging the elements of simple stories, let’s say ‘Little Red Riding Hood’ or ‘Cinderella’, we can create individual plot arrangements of the basic story events. For example, we could start our story of Cinderella at the ball or our story of Little Red Riding Hood at the point at which she is about to be eaten and then in both cases use ﬂashback sequences to tell the story. In fact, we could start our narrative at any point within the chronology of the story that we chose. But what will always happen in a mainstream cinema narrative is that the plot will consist of a cause-and-effect ﬂow of

47

NARRATIVE

actions. You should be able to take any ﬁlm and see how the sequence of events has been rearranged into a particular cause-and-effect chain.

Case Study: Four Weddings and a Funeral (1994) (Director: Mike Newell. Scriptwriter: Richard Curtis. Cast: Charles (Hugh Grant); Carrie (Andie MacDowell); Tom (James Fleet); Gareth (Simon Callow); Matthew (John Hannah); Fiona (Kristin Scott Thomas); David (David Bower); Scarlett (Charlotte Coleman).) This ﬁlm would seem to be at least to some extent an exception to the rule in that it is almost a series of set-piece scenes. Can you think of any other ﬁlms that might in some ways be said to not have a structure of cause and effect? But is this ﬁlm really an exception? Within each set-piece scene the events that take place always follow a cause and effect sequence. And there is in fact a sense of linkage between the individual episodes: ■ ■ ■ ■

Bernard and Lydia get together as a couple at the ﬁrst wedding and as a result constitute the occasion of the second wedding; we meet Carrie and her ﬁancé, Hamish, at this second wedding thus leading naturally into the third wedding; Gareth has a heart attack and dies at Carrie’s wedding moving us logically by cause and effect to the funeral of the title; and from this gathering of the friends the necessity to marry pronounced by Gareth, the increased calm of Henrietta, and Tom’s telling Charles that he had never hoped for a blinding ﬂash, all lead naturally to the ﬁnal wedding.

ACTIVITY . . . 1

2

Choose your own ﬁlm and draw a diagrammatic representation of the ways in which cause and effect work within a single scene of your choice and within the structure of the whole ﬁlm. Explain your diagrams to a small group of other students who have undertaken the same exercise.

Characters When approaching a ﬁlm we should also consider carefully each of the main characters. Usually they will provide the filmmakers with a means of exploring various aspects of the human experience. Often they display particular commonly recognised traits of human nature, or complex inner conflicts of values and emotions. Often there will be contrasting, or parallel characters, who are used to highlight the oppositional

48

MAKING MEANING (FS1)

possibilities open to human beings; love and hate, compassion and brutality, vengeance and forgiveness, etc. Sometimes characters are dramatized as unique individuals, and at other times they are presented as symbolic representations of what are seen as particular types of character (perhaps a Christ-like character, perhaps a Satanic character, perhaps something on that broad spectrum in between). Certainly characters and the relationships between characters will be a key element of any ﬁlm’s approach to storytelling.

ACTIVITY . . . ■ ■

Deﬁne the natures of the characters in any ﬁlm you have seen recently. List what you saw as being the key features of each character. Did you see them as being well rounded three-dimensional characters that you felt really could have existed or as being rather ﬂat, one-dimensional and ultimately unbelievable?

NOTEBOX . . . Flat and rounded characters are terms used by the novelist, E.M. Forster, when discussing literature in Aspects of the Novel. Rounded characters, it is suggested, have psychological depth, the complexity of real people. Often they are seen as being in some sense ‘better’ than ﬂat characters that are underdeveloped or seem only to represent one aspect of human nature.

Stories in everyday life Throughout our lives (or at least, from the time we are able to use language) we are surrounded by stories: fairy tales, nursery rhymes, myths and legends, novels, histories, biographies, biblical narratives, plays, TV soaps, comic books, newspaper articles, songs, even conversation and, perhaps, dreams. Every day in almost every everyday situation in which we ﬁnd ourselves it seems storytelling plays a part. Eavesdrop on a few conversations and you will continually hear phrases that signal a story is being told: ‘So, I said to her . . .’, or ‘I remember when . . .’, or ‘When we got there . . .’ and so on and so forth.

ACTIVITY . . . ■

List the types of story with which you have come into contact so far today and expect to come into contact with later today. (Think carefully about this and you should ﬁnd that stories are a much more integral part of your everyday experience than you might have at ﬁrst realized.) continued

49

NARRATIVE

■

Compare your list with that of at least one other person, if possible. See if anyone has thought of sorts of stories missed by other people in the group. Try to arrive at as exhaustive a list as possible.

ACTIVITY . . . ■ ■

■ ■

What story do you remember above all others from your childhood? Write the story down keeping as close as possible to the original that you were told. Think about the story: what was it about it that made it memorable to you? Who told you the story? Do you remember where? Were these factors important in you remembering the story? Exchange memories with other people and see if their experiences are in any way similar to yours. If you were to analyse the story what would you say were its key aspects? Does it, for example, build tension, use suspense or surprise, involve colourful characters, or employ a repetition of events?

Storytelling expectations All the evidence would suggest that the use of narrative is one of the fundamental ways in which we make sense of the world; stories could be said to bring order and structure to our otherwise chaotic experiences. As a result, as viewers who are already familiar with the storytelling conventions of narrative structure, we approach ﬁlm with deﬁnite expectations. We expect to see a range of characters, or character types, involved in a series of structured events that occur in certain places and at certain moments in time. There are likely to be problems and conﬂicts, and these are likely to be ﬁnally resolved in some way after having reached some climactic moment of confrontation. KEY TERM

NARRATIVE This term is really quite simply used as another term for ‘story’. But it can also be seen (perhaps more correctly) as a more technical term relating to attempts to theorize the principles by which stories are structured. Some theorists, for example, have suggested that all stories have ‘deep-seated’ underpinning common narrative structures.

The expectations we bring to a ﬁlm’s narrative are derived from our general experience of life, but also, just as importantly, from our previous experience of ﬁlm and other narrative forms (we know, for instance, that both when friends tell us about something that has happened to them and when we watch ﬁlms there is usually a clear sense

50

MAKING MEANING (FS1)

of a beginning, middle and end to the story). Within this prior experience, our knowledge of genres (or different types of ﬁlm and storytelling) will be responsible for the creation of a major component of audience expectation. So, if we are talking about storytelling forms in general we will know that fairy tales, for example, tend to follow certain conventions while novels follow slightly different ‘rules’. And, if we are talking about types of film we will know that the conventions attaching to horror might in certain ways be different from those associated with sci-ﬁ ﬁlms. Within each genre there is a slightly different set of rules of narrative construction at work, a slightly different language of narrative structure that is known to both the ﬁlmmaker and the audience. The ﬁlmmaker may follow these rules, or (and this is a major part of the pleasure of narrative for the audience) they may subvert our expectations, creating surprise for the viewer.

ACTIVITY . . . ■

■

■

Think about a film you saw recently and jot down the outline of the plot structure (that is what happened in the order in which it happened in the ﬁlm) perhaps in the form of a ﬂow chart using arrows to show how one thing followed another. Try to decide what expectations you had when you went to see the ﬁlm and whether the opening conﬁrmed or challenged these expectations. Then, work your way through the narrative and decide at which points your expectations were fulﬁlled as you had expected and at which points you were surprised by what happened next. How did your expectations change and develop as the ﬁlm progressed and what caused these changes?

51

NARRATIVE

KEY TERM

GENRE This term has at least a double usage here. It can be used to denote different general types of storytelling extending across a range of different media such as fairy tales, plays and TV soaps; so, simply different types of storytelling. But it can also be used to refer to the classiﬁcation of ﬁlms into types such as horror, romantic comedy, thriller or science ﬁction.

KEY TERM

EXPECTATIONS The set of ideas each of us brings with us when we watch any film. These may be expectations to do with story structure, character development, or themes we anticipate will be dealt with; and they will be based upon our previous experience of these things.

Do all stories have the same basic structure? Theorists interested in narrative structure have suggested that all films (indeed all stories) are structurally the same: ■ ■ ■

we are introduced to a hero/heroine and shown the world in which they live; the normality of this world is disrupted; the hero/heroine sets out to restore order.

In basic terms we deal with a scenario of good versus evil, and a world in which order is set against chaos. Certainly experience would tend to suggest all stories are founded upon the idea of a conflict between two or more central characters or groups of characters.

ACTIVITY . . . ■ ■ ■

Is it true in your experience that all stories seem to work around a central conﬂict and involve the basic features mentioned above? Discuss these ideas in small groups, considering a selection of ﬁlms from different genres if possible. Do these general ideas hold true in all cases? What were, or who were, the representatives of good and evil in the narratives you discussed? Where could you see ideas about chaos and order at work? Was there always a point at which you could see the ‘normality’ of the given world being disrupted in some way?

Syd Field But it is not just theorists looking at stories in general who have suggested there are deep-seated structures at work. Syd Field1 advising on screenwriting said good scripts comprised three clear acts. The first gave the set-up showing where the action was taking place, introducing who was involved and suggesting in broad terms what was going to happen. At the end of the ﬁrst act there was a crucial point at which the direction of the whole of the rest of the ﬁlm was set up. According to Field this was followed by a second act with a key note of confrontation as the main character faced a series of obstacles to completing the central dramatic need of the ﬁlm. At the end of this act there should be a further crucial point, he said, at which the central character would seem to have their goal in sight but would be faced with one ﬁnal problem. And then in act three all the plots and sub-plots would be resolved.

ACTIVITY . . . ■

Take any ﬁlm of your choice and try to apply Field’s outline for a good script to it. Does it ﬁt? Can you identify the two key plot points at the end of acts

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MAKING MEANING (FS1)

■ ■

one and two? Are there any ways in which your chosen ﬁlm doesn’t seem to conform to Field’s suggested pattern? Compare your ideas with those of other people, if possible. If you have time, try to find out more detail about Field’s approach to scriptwriting.

The simple story Even a simple sentence, such as ‘The cat sat on the mat’, amounts to an observation of a subject within a particular environment and as such could well form the exposition (or opening) to a story. The tranquil ordinariness of normality has been set up and as such is ripe for disruption. If we add to this first sentence a second, perhaps, ‘A mouse passed slowly before the cat’, we have developed the situation and (because of the nature of the relationship between cats and mice) introduced a complication to the basic situation. Continuing with a third sentence, ‘The cat pounced and pounced again, while the mouse dodged this way and that’, we are building towards a potential climax that might come with ‘The cat brought down its paw on the mouse’s tail, held him fast and bared its teeth’. Our reader because of her knowledge of narrative structure will now be waiting for the resolution phase and perhaps a twist in the tale: ‘The mouse smiled. The cat looked confused. The mouse pointed behind the cat. A large dog bounded into the room. The cat ran. The mouse continued slowly on its way’.

ACTIVITY . . . ■

■

Try to come up with your own short story comprising no more than 10–12 short sentences. The first sentence should set out a basic situation. The second should develop this a little and perhaps introduce some sort of complication. You should then move towards a climax before adding an ending that resolves the problem in your imagined world in some way. Alternatively, pass a sheet of paper around a small group of students and ask each person to write one sentence of a story. The ﬁrst person sets out a basic scenario; the second introduces a further character or adds a complication, and so on. Aim to ﬁnish the story in 10–12 sentences and nobody is allowed to write more than one sentence at a time. Only read out the whole story at the end.

The use of time in stories When we watch a ﬁlm, we have to hold in mind at least three different time frames. There is story duration (the time frame in which we conceive of the story taking place), plot duration (the time frame within which we conceive of ourselves being told the

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NARRATIVE

story), and screen duration (the amount of time we are actually sitting in front of the screen). The story is the simple chronology of narrative events. The plot is the arrangement of these events within the ﬁlm. KEY TERM

CHRONOLOGY The ordering of a series of events in time sequence. This is the simplest way of setting out a story and is important in ﬁlms such as Bloody Sunday (Greengrass, 2002) (see FS3 British Cinema – Social and Political Conflict), involving the shooting of people taking part in a civil rights demonstration in Northern Ireland in 1972, where the development of events in sequence over a set period of time is a vital part of the whole creative enterprise.

In the classic romantic wartime drama Casablanca (Curtiz, 1942), through the use of ﬂashback the story is able to cover a period of a year or more since Rick (Humphrey Bogart) met Ilsa (Ingrid Bergman) during the German occupation of Paris, but the plot takes place during just three days and nights as they meet again in Casablanca, and all of this occurs over a screen duration of just 98 minutes. Here ﬂashback as well as the way in which stories leave out anything that is not essential to the progression of the narrative allows the compression of time to occur. Details given within the dialogue, such as Rick’s involvement in prewar conﬂicts in Spain and Ethiopia, although they have no visual presence within the ﬁlm enable us to extend story time still further into our characters’ pasts. In the western High Noon (Zinnemann, 1952) in which we follow Gary Cooper’s character, the sheriff, awaiting the arrival in town of the ‘baddies’ the screen duration of 85 minutes is the same as the plot duration since we experience his waiting minute by minute. In Billy Elliot (Daldry, 2000) (this ﬁlm could be considered further under FS3 British and Irish Cinema – Passions and Repressions) we essentially follow our central character over a period of about a year around the time of the miners’ strike of March 1984 to March 1985. However, the story depends upon us being made strongly aware of the death of Billy’s mother two years previously and includes a ﬁnal scene some years later showing his ultimate success as a dancer. In Orphans (Mullan, 1999) (see FS3 British Cinema – Scottish Cinema) set in a contemporary period in Glasgow, in a ﬁlm that is 98 minutes long we follow the stories of three brothers and their sister over the evening, night and morning before their mother’s funeral. There is a clear pattern to the narrative structure with the four starting off together gathered around the coffin, dividing off into pairs and then further splitting off as individuals before coming back together by the end of the ﬁlm. In the French ﬁlm La Haine (Kassovitz, 1995) (this ﬁlm could be considered further under FS5 Studies in World Cinema – Single Study Films) we essentially follow the intertwined stories of three friends living in the working-class suburbs of Paris over a single day. The ﬁlm opens the morning after a night in which groups of young people have been involved in violent confrontation with the police, and it follows the three friends through the day and night and into the early hours of the next morning.

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MAKING MEANING (FS1)

NOTEBOX . . . Please note: there is absolutely no reason why you should have heard of any of the ﬁlms mentioned in the two paragraphs above (although you might know of one or two of these ﬁlms, at least by name), or in any other paragraph in this book. Gradually we hope you will widen your interest in ﬁlms to encompass more and more different sorts, whether they are older movies, films from different countries, or ﬁlms from genres you have not previously spent time watching. The key thing with regard to the above examples is that you pick up the principles they are being used to explain and that you then try to apply these principles to ﬁlms that you know.

ACTIVITY . . . ■

■

■

List the story length, plot duration and screen time for any two ﬁlms you have seen recently (they could of course be ﬁlms you have used before for other exercises). Explain the narrative structure in as succinct a way as possible for both ﬁlms. Use the explanations given above for structures of Orphans and La Haine as models for your work. Can you think of any ﬁlms you know or have heard of where screen time is the same as plot duration?

The use of imagined space within stories In spatial terms watching a ﬁlm involves us in exploring at least two spatial dimensions. There is screen space visible within the frame, but there is also off-screen space that we are asked to imagine or remember from earlier. In effect we are asked to contain a whole imagined world within our minds. So, in La Haine we have some imagined spatial sense of the housing estate on which the three friends live and some sense of this as existing at a certain train journeying distance from the heart of Paris, and in Billy Elliot we have a strong sense of the mining community in which our central character lives. Similarly in Orphans there is a spatial sense of all of the events taking place within an imagined Glaswegian cityscape. Casablanca may have been ﬁlmed entirely in the Warner Brothers’ studio in California, but as the opening image of the map of Europe and North Africa urges we are expected to inhabit for the duration of the ﬁlm the imagined spaces of Casablanca and Paris. Time and space travel Time and space could be said to operate as the two key dimensions for ﬁlm narrative structure. The film’s storyline moves us through time and through space, from one

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NARRATIVE

place to another and one moment to another, in order for us to follow a particular sequence of events that are set out in a speciﬁc sequence to tell the story. This is at heart the ‘magic’ of storytelling and narrative ﬁlm: we can be in Casablanca and then in Paris, in 1942 and then in 1940. However, do notice that this ‘time travel’ is not fundamentally based on the ability of the storyteller or ﬁlmmaker, the producer of the tale, to recreate other worlds and other times, but rather on the innate human ability to imaginatively occupy spaces outside of the here and now. The ‘reader’ of the ﬁlm in other words is crucial to the successful realization of the imagined story.

ACTIVITY . . . 1

2

3 4

5

Watch any of the ﬁlms mentioned here alongside a ﬁlm of your own choice that you believe has an interesting narrative structure. As you are watching, make brief notes about where and when each scene takes place. After you have watched each ﬁlm decide what you would describe as being the beginning, middle and end to the film; in other words, its very basic narrative structure. Without consulting with others try to draw a plan or diagram giving the pattern, shape or structure of the narrative. For the films mentioned above in the text, if possible find somebody else who has watched the same ﬁlm and compare your diagrams. Look for similarities and differences. Try to decide who has come up with the best outline plan and be very clear about why you think it captures the narrative structure most effectively. For the ﬁlm of your own choice, explain the narrative structure in detail to somebody else using your diagram for that ﬁlm to help.

(Important: there is absolutely no need to complete all of the tasks suggested in this book. This one for example, will take time to do well and you might well not have the time. Activities are simply suggestions for things to do that will help you to ensure you understand the ideas being put forward.)

Cause and effect As we are watching, we expect each element within the narrative to be seen to have both cause(s) and effect(s); we expect events to be motivated in some way, to have been caused by something we have seen in the film and to have some discernible outcome. Without this, all we would have would be a random series of unconnected scenes leading from nowhere to nowhere. By its very deﬁnition a story has an ordered series of events that leads to a conclusion.

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Resolution To a large extent because of our experience of mainstream ﬁlm, we expect issues that have been set up within the film to be resolved in some clear-cut way so that we know what ﬁnally happens. And, in most ﬁlms this does happen, especially since this resolution of the issues at stake is often a means of confirming social norms and accepted consensual values. So, perhaps, in Casablanca for example it is the necessity of personal sacriﬁce in time of war and the placing of collective social aims over and above individual wishes that is asserted. In Orphans it is the bringing of the brothers and their sister together as a united family around the graves of their parents in the ﬁnal scene and what might be interpreted as their collective realization of the need to move on that gives some sort of answer to issues faced by the characters in the ﬁlm. But, it could be argued that through the ﬁlm (and speciﬁcally through the experiences of the central characters) we too have in some sense faced and gained a perspective on the important human concerns they have faced. In Billy Elliot a large part of the feel-good factor gained from the ending comes as a result of us feeling that Billy’s goal of becoming a dancer has been achieved. But there is also satisfaction being gained from the sense of ‘family’ unity achieved as a result of seeing his father, brother and best friend in the audience. However, ﬁlmmakers can use our expectation that things will be sorted out by the end as a means of leaving us with uncertainty and ambiguity rather than answers. To some extent matters are resolved at the end of Seven, for example, but we are also surely left with a whole series of questions about both of our central characters and certainly the issues raised by the ﬁlm are left (necessarily) unresolved. In fact we could go further and suggest the ending actually resolves matters in favour of evil in this ﬁlm, with John Doe’s (Kevin Spacey) plans being fulﬁlled to the letter. This is very unusual, certainly for a mainstream Hollywood ﬁlm, and is worth considering in some depth if you have seen the ﬁlm. At the end of La Haine we are given the basic outcome of the day’s events for our three central characters, but the wider issues raised by the ﬁlm are clearly unresolved. We have been given a whole set of possible reasons for the state of society and a further set of potential outcomes that might result from this, but nothing within this wider social context has been resolved. At the end of Seven we can create our own possible future scenarios for Mills and Somerset: at the end of La Haine we can create our own possible future scenarios for a whole society. Both sets of ﬁlmmakers have in one way or another refused to totally close down the possibilities and left room for reader

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KEY TERM

CAUSE AND EFFECT This refers to the way in which mainstream films are moved forward by one scene or event having been caused by an earlier one and in turn giving rise to an effect which is seen in a subsequent scene or event. What this means is that everything we see has been motivated by something we have seen earlier and in turn motivates something we see further on in the ﬁlm.

interpretation. Some spectators might feel themselves deprived of the comforting sense of satisfaction that a story with all the loose ends tied up may offer: others may be excited by the challenge offered by such ﬁnal disconcerting uncertainty. KEY TERM

RESOLUTION The ﬁnal phase of a narrative ﬁlm that quite simply resolves all the storylines that have been set running. Films may of course leave some matters unresolved.

ACTIVITY . . . ■ ■

Take any scene within a ﬁlm of your choice and work out a list of the effects and consequences that arise from that scene. Look back in the narrative and try to list the events that have caused your chosen scene to take place.

KEY TERM

EXPOSITION This is the opening to a film, which can often be in medioreum ‘in the middle of things’. It sets up expectations and possibilities, and introduces key characters, locations and ideas.

Goal-oriented plots In goal-oriented plots a character takes steps through the narrative to achieve a certain well-defined end. Such plots commonly revolve around searches, quests and journeys. Billy Elliot, for example, has already been referred to as having a goaloriented plot: we essentially follow Billy’s journey. Or plots can, as with detective stories, centre on the investigation (or search for information). Seven for instance works to resolve the mystery revolving around not only who the ‘seven deadly sins killer’ might be but also what his motivation might be.

ACTIVITY . . . Can you think of any films you have seen that do not have clear goals, or objectives, set out? Is it the case that this is a feature of all narrative ﬁlms?

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Films that focus strongly upon the psychological state of a central character can internalize this search or investigation so that what we have is this character’s inner struggle for meaning or some understanding of the self. This might be said to be true in relation to all three central characters in La Haine and at least two of the brothers, Michael and John, in Orphans. The ending, as we have said, may represent a closed resolution of the problem(s) faced by the main character(s), or it may be left more open to interpretation. NARRATIVE STRUCTURE AND THE VIEWER The narrative is, of course, also taking the viewer on a journey. Patterns of development within the plot will engage the viewer in the creation of expectations, which may be immediately fulﬁlled, delayed in their fulﬁlment, or cheated. That is, the ﬁlmmaker engages in gratiﬁcation, suspense and surprise. The interesting thing is that each of these storytelling strategies is found to be pleasurable for the viewer. Furthermore, however the storyline is structured it seems that because of our underpinning knowledge of narrative (whether inherent in some way to human beings or culturally learnt) we as the viewer have no choice but to actively engage in attempting to make logical narrative sense of what is unfolding before us. We are complicit in a vital way with the creative storytelling act; we willingly engage in the process, giving of ourselves both emotionally and intellectually.

ACTIVITY . . . ■

■

■ ■

Watch Ratcatcher (Ramsey, 1999) (see FS3 British Cinema – Scottish Cinema), if you have the time. Perhaps this is a ﬁlm that could be seen in relation to a central character’s journey or search. How would you define the goal being sought by James in such an interpretation? Would the ending suggest James reached his goal, and if so, in what way(s)? Decide on your interpretation or understanding of the ending and then discuss your ideas with others. Did everyone have the same interpretation? After discussion did you agree on one interpretation or did people still hold on to their individual understandings?

(Similar activities could be undertaken using a range of other films. The Matrix (Wachowski, 1999) and Donnie Darko (Kelly, 2001), for example, would be possibilities.)

The position of the reader The view of events offered to us as we watch a ﬁlm may be unrestricted, that is we may be permitted a godlike overview enabling us to know more than any single character or even all of the characters; or our view on things may be restricted, that is we may

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only be able to see events from one character’s perspective. In Orphans we occupy a privileged position being able to see what is happening to each sibling as they pursue their own individual narrative trajectories, but at the key climactic moment as John sets out with the shotgun to avenge his brother’s stabbing it is vital that information is withheld from us in order to achieve the required shock effect. As this example suggests there is, of course, a whole range of possible ways films might use restricted and unrestricted narrative. Sometimes a single story incident may appear twice or more in the plot. Sometimes multiple narrators may describe the same event (in the famous Orsen Welles’ film, Citizen Kane (1941), different narrators give their individual interpretations of Kane’s personality and driving motivations).

ACTIVITY . . . Draw up flow charts for Seven and any other film you have watched recently marking out at which points in the plot the viewer’s perspective on events has been restricted and at which points unrestricted, that is to say at which moments our knowledge is in line with that of the central characters and at which moments we are privileged to know more than them.

As readers it is useful to continually ask ourselves if we know more than, less than, or as much as any given character. We may have greater knowledge than a character (this tends to lead to suspense – we anticipate events happening that the character cannot know about and wonder when these things will happen or whether our character will find out what we know before the anticipated event occurs), or we may have less knowledge than the character or be conﬁned to that character’s perceptual subjectivity (this tends to lead to surprise – we don’t anticipate events but experience them in as unexpected a fashion as our central character). The director, Alfred Hitchcock explained this in classic terms by using the idea of two people at a table having a conversation with a bomb in a bag beneath the table. If we as the audience knew more than the characters and were aware of the presence of the bomb, suspense would be at work because we would be on edge wondering if it was going to explode. However, if we didn’t know about the bomb and it went off we would experience the ﬁlmmaker’s use of surprise. We may also usefully ask ourselves as we are watching a ﬁlm exactly how well we know any given character’s thoughts, feelings and perception of the world. How sure can we be that we ‘know’ our chosen character? How confident can we be in their assessment of any given situation? Most films consider there is an objective narration (a position of detached, balanced judgement) to which we return from more subjective episodes; but some alternative approaches may see such objectivity as unattainable or at least severely problematic. There was much debate amongst the ﬁlmmakers over the way Seven should end. The ending that we have maintains Somerset’s status as the reliable voice of reason and his concluding words as a narrator (despite the fact that a narrator has not been used throughout the rest of the ﬁlm) are justiﬁed because of this

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position of balanced judgement that he has occupied throughout the film. But you might want to look at the alternative endings that were mooted and discuss this point further.

NOTEBOX . . . When you begin to consider these sorts of issues and look at the range of possible positions for the reader you begin to gain some awareness of the complexity of the reading process that is being undertaken as we watch a ﬁlm. We are continually being expected to take up new perspectives, engage in new understandings, and shift our position in relation to new information.

Hollywood narratives Hollywood narrative tends to focus on the psychological causes for actions or events that take place, for the decisions or choices that are made, and for individual character traits that are revealed. Often the narrative is driven by some form of desire, with the central character wanting to achieve some end; and there is usually a counter-force preventing him or her from achieving that end, perhaps a character that embodies an oppositional outlook or goal. So, in Seven we are continually being asked to understand events in terms of the psychology of our three central characters, the young rookie cop who believes in attempting to act as a force for good, the cynical older cop who believes nothing will ever change, and the insane psychopathic killer. (This sort of approach is very different from a narrative such as that used by the famous Soviet director Sergei Eisenstein for Strike (1924) (see FS5 World Cinema – German and Soviet Cinema of the 1920s) where events are seen to be caused not by individuals but to come about as the result of massive social forces embodied in whole groups (or classes) such as workers and factory owners. However, films that do not see events as motivated by the psychological make-up of characters are rare.)

ACTIVITY . . . 1

2

Consider these ideas in relation to a contemporary Hollywood film of your own choice. What are the psychological causes for each of the central characters’ actions? What are the psychological causes for each central characters’ key decisions or choices? What ends does each central character wish to achieve at various points in the narrative and what are the counterforces working to prevent them from achieving these ends? Explain your ideas briefly to a small group of other students if possible, perhaps using diagrams to illustrate your ideas.

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In general, within Hollywood films of the 1930s, 1940s and 1950s there is a strong sense of closure with no loose ends being left unresolved, the moral message is clear and good triumphs over evil. However, it is also true to say that endings can rarely be entirely tied down and often space is left for the reader to in part at least construct their own conclusion. At the end of Casablanca the German ‘baddie’ has been shot and the question of who gets the girl has been resolved for us, but what happens next to the characters we have followed throughout the ﬁlm is to some extent unknown and open to conjecture. Seven may have been made more than 50 years after Casablanca but fundamentally it works in the same way. We may be left somewhat uncertain about the future for Mills and Somerset, but the story involving the seven killings has come to a deﬁnite close. Our initial questions about why these events were taking place have been answered. The difference, perhaps, is that far from being defeated, evil might even be said to have triumphed. Chris Vogler Chris Vogler2 claims any story involving a hero undertaking a journey involves several stages: ■ ■ ■ ■ ■

the hero’s ordinary world is established and he is given a challenge or quest; the hero meets someone who gives him advice or he obtains something that will help in the quest; moving into the special world the hero faces tests/enemies, ﬁnds allies and learns the rules of this world; the hero faces his greatest ordeal, almost fails, achieves his goal, but still faces the return journey; the hero returns to the ordinary world as a changed person.

The importance of the reader or viewer Finally, it is important to realize that as spectators in the cinema we are not inactive: narrative depends upon an interaction between the text and the reader. Throughout the process it seems we are continually examining what has just happened and on the basis of our comprehension of that event within the context of the chain of events that have so far unfolded we ask questions about what is likely (based on our previous experience of similar narratives) to happen next. Although of course the notion of ‘asking questions’ is not quite correct since all of this seems to happen in a psychological ﬂash. Tzvetan Todorov Todorov3 sees narrative as following a common pattern of movement from a stable equilibrium to disruption of the equilibrium to a re-ordered equilibrium (achieved by action being taken against the force causing the disruption). You should be able to apply this template to the whole ﬁlm and perhaps also individual scenes (do remember though that the initial balance may be suggested very brieﬂy).

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ACTIVITY . . . ■

■

Choose a film and in a group work together to apply Todorov’s narrative theory. (Obviously it will have to be a film that you all know well.) Alternatively, take a ﬁlm that we have already considered as a case study. When you have done this try to do the same with Vogler’s perhaps slightly more complicated suggested structure.

(This is a simplified version of Vogler’s ideas, if you have time research his ideas in more detail. In particular ﬁnd out the names of the seven key characters (or archetypes) he claims are always present and see if you can apply these deﬁnitions to characters in your chosen ﬁlm.)

ACTIVITY . . . ■ ■

■

■

Watch Run Lola Run (Tykwer, 1999) making careful notes about the storyline, including characters and their relationships to each other. If possible, discuss with others what you would describe as being the beginning, middle and end to this film; and then try to construct a flow chart showing the ﬁlm’s narrative structure. How would you describe your relationship with this ﬁlm and with the central character? Were you interested in what happened next and in what happened to Lola and Manni? Why? Discuss your ideas in groups. Why do you think Tykwer constructed his narrative in the way that he did? Was the construction aiding him in conveying certain meanings? Discuss your ideas in groups.

Narrative pleasure One of the key functions of narrative is to deliver certain gratifications to us as an audience; films if they are to be successful in box-office terms must give pleasure to the audience in very particular, very predictable ways. We are ‘pleasured’ by knowing Todorov’s pattern and seeing it unfold before us. We receive gratification from seeing our expectations confirmed but also from existing within the tension of wondering whether our expectations will be fulﬁlled or undercut. And perhaps we are most intensely ‘pleasured’ by ﬁnding the surprise of a new and unexpected twist that we are now able to add to our ‘back-catalogue’ of expectations. Another theorist, Barthes4 proposed that narrative worked through enigmas or the setting up of mysteries for the reader to solve. Again, the idea is that this is a process by which pleasure is provided for the reader.

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ACTIVITY . . . ■ ■

In groups try to identify ways in which any film you have seen recently pleasures the audience through the structure of the narrative. Go beyond narrative structure to see if you can identify further ways in which this particular ﬁlm offers pleasure to the audience.

(If you’re uncertain about this read the key the term ‘pleasure’ on p. 6 before returning to this exercise.)

Narrative dependence on oppositions Taking a further possible approach, the work of Lévi-Strauss5 is often taken as suggesting that narrative structure depends upon binary oppositions. This concept is essentially based around thematic concerns found in the text and suggests that for every theme you locate in the narrative its opposite will also be at work. So, if the notion of predator is attached to the scene with Marion and Norman in the parlour in Psycho then the idea of prey will also be relevant. Do be careful, however, about linking a single idea too strongly to one character. For example, if Norman is associated with darkness and the night then Marion will simply be linked to light and the day. Although in this case we might suggest this could be argued quite strongly, often the truth of a scene like this is more to do with the good and bad in both characters (and perhaps ultimately in all of us). In Seven Mills and Somerset are clearly set up as binary opposites: the older, cynical, world-weary cop near to retirement and the young, enthusiastic rookie who wants to make a difference to the world. Interestingly though, this is far too simplified an analysis; for instance it begins to emerge that they may be much closer to each other in their attitudes than such a binary opposition might at ﬁrst suggest.

ACTIVITY . . . ■ ■

In groups take a ﬁlm of your choice and try to draw up a list of oppositions within the text. For everything within the list you need to be able to show actual scenes that illustrate the oppositions.

STORIES AND SOCIETY The stories (legends, myths and sagas, for example) that are told in different cultures have often been seen as a means of coping with a society’s experience of the world; from this perspective stories are seen as a way of making sense of a whole community’s experience. Stories have also been viewed as the place where the collective memory

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or experience of the society is held and by means of which that collective memory and experience of the world is passed on to successive generations. Could ﬁlm function in these ways? Could ﬁlms be said to offer a society a way of negotiating its way through or making sense of contemporary experience and perhaps a means of passing on that negotiated understanding to the wider community or next generation? How important might Hollywood prove to be in enabling American society to come to terms with the trauma of 9/11? How important was it in enabling that society to deal with the fractures within society that opened up around the Vietnam experience?

ACTIVITY . . . What is your view on this? Had you for instance ever thought of ﬁlm as perhaps performing through its created stories some sort of ritual function for society as a whole? Discuss your response with others. (It may well be that you have never thought of ﬁlm in these terms. If so, that is absolutely ﬁne. What is being offered all the time here are potentially new ways of considering ﬁlm. You should give each of them your careful consideration and then hold on to the basic idea so that you can try to see if it might ﬁt any new ﬁlms you come across.)

ACTIVITY . . . 1 2 3

Analyse a sequence of no more than ten minutes from Run Lola Run or any other ﬁlm in terms of its narrative structure. Make notes on your chosen sequence and then if possible discuss your ideas with somebody else, or several others, who are looking at the same ﬁlm. Write an analysis (1,000–1,500 words) of the ways in which narrative structure works to create meaning and generate audience response in your chosen sequence.

Case Study: Moulin Rouge (2001) (Director: Baz Luhrmann. Screenwriters: Luhrmann and Craig Pearce. Producers: Luhrmann, Fred Baron and Martin Brown. Director of Photography: Donald McAlpine. Director of Music: Marius DeVries. Cast: Nicole Kidman (Satine), Ewan McGregor (Christian), John Leguizamo (Toulouse-Lautrec), Jim Broadbent (Harold Zidler), Richard Roxburgh (the Duke).) If we watch the ﬁrst ten minutes of this ﬁlm certain key elements of the narrative will already have been set up for us and we will have a set of narrative expectations

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about the rest of the ﬁlm. This case study provides a framework for a narrative analysis which can be applied to any ﬁlm of your choice. The first prerequisite of any story is that it should grab our attention from the outset: ■ ■

How does Moulin Rouge seek to do this even before we have been introduced to any characters? What devices are used by the ﬁlmmakers to make the opening different from anything we have seen before?

And yet, at the same time because of the musical refrains that are chosen certain themes are already being suggested to us: what would these be? ■

■ ■

■

■

■

Is the hero clearly introduced? How do we feel about our hero? Have we, for instance, already started to identify with him? Do we have a clear sense of what he is like? What makes us fairly certain he is going to be the hero of the ﬁlm? What possible complications or obstacles are already being set up for the hero? Which other characters are introduced in the opening sequence? What information do we ﬁnd out about them? What information are we given about the world in which the ﬁlm is set? Has the opening managed to create an imagined world in your mind? How has this been achieved? Can you apply the idea of equilibrium to this setting? What conﬂicts might cause a disruption to this world? Do we already feel we have some idea of what we think might happen? Have we been able to follow a clear cause and effect pattern between events in the opening? Has each event been clearly motivated so that we can understand why it has occurred? What questions are raised by the opening? How do you think these will be resolved by the end of the ﬁlm? Are there mysteries or uncertainties about which we are keen to know more? Have goals been given or possible objectives suggested for the hero? Do we have any idea what he might ﬁnd out about during the course of the ﬁlm? Are there indications as to what his likely journey, search or quest might be?

Write an analysis of the ways in which the various aspects of narrative work to create meaning and generate audience response in the opening to Moulin Rouge (1,000–1,500 words).

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Figure 2.2 Moulin Rouge Source: Twentieth Century Fox/The Kobal Collection

CONCLUSION One way of approaching films is to see them as stories. Essentially this involves analysing the various ways in which as stories or narratives they utilize certain common recurring features of storytelling or narrative structure.

FURTHER READING Armstrong, R. (2005) Understanding Realism, London: BFI (Chapter 2). Hayward, S. (2005) Cinema Studies: the Key Concepts, London and New York: Routledge. Lacey, N. (2005) Introduction to Film, Basingstoke and New York: Palgrave Macmillan (Chapter 2). Nelmes, J. (ed.) (2003) An Introduction to Film Studies, London: Routledge (Chapter 4). Phillips, P. (2000) Understanding Film Texts: Meaning and Experience. London: BFI (Chapter 2). Phillips, W.H. (2005) Film: An Introduction, 3rd edn, Boston: Bedford/St Martin’s (Chapter 7). Roberts, G. and Wallis, H. (2001) Introducing Film, London: Arnold (Chapter 4).

USEFUL WEBSITES www.bfi.org.uk www.filmeducation.org

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NOTES TO CHAPTER 2 1 Syd Field, author of a key screenwriting text, Screenplay, who has worked as a consultant for Twentieth Century Fox, Disney, Universal and Tri Star Pictures. 2 Chris Vogler, author of another key screenwriting text, The Writer’s Journey: Mythic Structure for Writers, who has also worked for Disney and Twentieth Century Fox. 3 Tzvetan Todorov, a Bulgarian literary theorist interested in the structural principles underlying narrative. 4 Roland Barthes, a French cultural critic who through a varied series of approaches consistently rejected the idea that any sign simply worked as a representation of reality. 5 Claude Lévi-Strauss, a key exponent of structuralism, seeing apparently separate elements as only understandable when placed within the context of a system of relationships.

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▼

3 GENRE What is genre and why is it such an important term in Film Studies?

This chapter deals with: ■ ■ ■ ■ ■ ■ ■ ■

deﬁning the concept of genre; genre as a means of giving pleasure; acknowledging genres as dynamic and subject to change over time; recognizing the possibility of seeing genre as a form of ﬁlm language; looking for similar thematic concerns across genres; recognizing the use made of genre as a marketing strategy; introducing the genre of ﬁlm noir; suggesting possible approaches to Seven.

NOTEBOX . . . This chapter will be directly relevant to the section on ﬁlm form in FS1 – Film: Making Meaning 1 for the WJEC’s AS in Film Studies and could be used to form part of the underpinning knowledge for one of the two required pieces of analytical coursework.

FILMS MENTIONED If you are working your way through the whole or parts of this chapter you will ﬁnd it useful to have watched the whole of Seven (Fincher, 1995) and at least the opening to Scream (Craven, 1995). You will also ﬁnd it helpful to have access to scenes, clips and single shots from at least some of the following ﬁlms: ■ ■ ■ ■

Psycho (Hitchcock, 1960) East is East (O’Donnell, 1999) Runaway Bride (Marshall, 1999) From Dusk Till Dawn (Rodriguez, 1995)

69 GENRE

■ ■ ■ ■ ■ ■ ■ ■ ■ ■

The Ballad of Little Jo (Greenwald, 1993) Notting Hill (Michell, 1999) Nosferatu (Murnau, 1922) Blade Runner (Scott, 1982) Total Recall (Verhoeven, 1990) Independence Day (Emmerich, 1993) The Full Monty (Cattaneo, 1997) Collateral (Mann, 2004) The Big Combo (Lewis, 1955) Sin City (Tarantino, 2005)

GENRE: THE CONCEPT Most often narrative ﬁlms are classiﬁed by both the producers of ﬁlms and audiences according to the concept of genre; that is they are seen in terms of categories such as sci-ﬁ, or musical, or western, or horror, or even sub-genres such as spaghetti western or ‘slasher’ movie. However, this way of classifying film is not usually analysed or examined in any way by most of us but is simply taken for granted. If, however, we were to consider the issue we might recognize that each genre has its own iconography, that is to say characteristic props, costumes, settings and character types that act as visual signiﬁers alerting us to the appropriate category within which we can expect to pigeon-hole any particular ﬁlm. There will also be musical signiﬁers (characteristic features of the soundtrack) and verbal signiﬁers (characteristic dialogue features), that is to say in general terms sound signiﬁers, indicating the genre being used by the ﬁlmmakers. KEY TERM

ICONOGRAPHY As explained above, this simply refers to characteristic features of a genre, the things you expect to see and sounds you expect to hear that taken together collectively tell you the type of ﬁlm, or genre, you are watching. Again, as with all other ﬁlm terms, knowing the name and what it means may be useful but it is not essential; it is recognizing the characteristic features that are signalling to you that this is a speciﬁc genre and being able to identify them at work within particular scenes within particular ﬁlms that are important.

Case Study: Scream (1995) (Director: Wes Craven. Screenwriter: Kevin Williamson. Cinematography: Mark Irwin. Music: Marco Beltrami. Cast: Drew Barrymore (Casey Becker), Neve Campbell (Sidney Prescott), Skeet Ulrich (Billy Loomis), Courtney Cox (Gale Weathers), Rose McGowan (Tatum Riley), David Arquette (Dwight ‘Dewey’ Riley).)

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Watch the opening to this ﬁlm. It should quite quickly become apparent what is being referred to here as the opening since it almost operates as a ‘stand alone’ short film in its own right concluding with a dramatic camera movement that propels us towards an equally dramatic image of a body hanging from a tree. Assuming you were unaware of the ﬁlm’s genre when it ﬁrst started, how quickly would you become certain of the genre? What main genre heading would you classify this as belonging to, and would there be sub-categories, or sub-genres, within this major classiﬁcation that you would see this ﬁlm as ﬁtting into? What would be the factors that would alert you to genre from an early stage? Do you initially become aware of an overall category, and then later sub-categories? If so, at what point do these two things become clear and what are the elements within the make-up of the ﬁlm that make these categorizations apparent? In practice, of course, an audience in a cinema, or people who had bought or rented the video or DVD, would already have a good idea of what they were about to watch. What factors prior to coming to view the ﬁlm would mean the spectator was pre-warned about genre and had in fact probably made a conscious choice to watch the film on this basis? (The list of ideas you arrive at here will make it clear just how much use both audiences and the producers of ﬁlms make of the concept of genre before the actual moment of viewing. Posters, trailers, critical reviews and the director’s previous work, for example, should all be on your list.) Work your way through the whole sequence, listing as many elements as possible that are used by the ﬁlmmakers to make the genre clear to us. One of the keys to completing as comprehensive a list as possible is to remember the work done earlier on ﬁlm form. Use the headings, mise en scène, cinematography, editing and sound and note ideas beneath each for ways in which these elements of ﬁlm construction are being used to signal the genre to us. You should also ﬁnd factors relating to narrative such as character types, character relationships and plot structure that help in indicating genre. Examples under each heading would include: ■ ■ ■ ■ ■ ■ ■ ■ ■

the setting of the isolated house in the country; the use of knives as props in the kitchen; the change in Casey’s (Drew Barrymore’s) movements as she begins to realize the situation; the way in which a tracking shot is used within the house to follow Casey; the single shot of the raised knife; the change in pace of the editing towards the climax of the scene; the sound of the knife being replaced in its holder in the kitchen; sudden violent uses of language within the dialogue; the use of the attractive, blond girl home alone.

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You should be able to add many more ideas to this list (especially if you are a fan of this type of ﬁlm). You will notice, for instance, that colour, lighting and music are not even mentioned here. Particularly if you are a fan of the genre, you might like to spend some time picking out the references that are made to other horror ﬁlms not only in the dialogue but also in the ways the ﬁlm is constructed. Make sure you watch the sequence several times and that you find time to compare your list with those made by other people. When you have done this you will in effect have completed a genre analysis of the opening to this ﬁlm. Research a list of ﬁlms that are generally seen as having followed in the wake of Scream. (If you are a fan of the genre you will probably be able to come up with a very respectable list without doing any research.) You might like to discuss a sequence from one of these ﬁlms applying the same approach as suggested above for Scream. Scary Movie (Wayans, 2000) would be an interesting choice for this exercise because of the ways in which it references Scream.

Figure 3.1 The opening sequence of Scream Source: Dimension Films / RGA

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Subverting audience expectations As an audience we always need to be alert to the fact that our genre expectations may be subverted or undercut in some way by ﬁlmmakers who are well aware of the things audiences normally expect to ﬁnd in ﬁlms from any particular genre. So, for example, prior to Scream we would have expected the actor playing what is apparently the central female role to survive beyond the opening scene; and watching in 1995 we would have been shocked by the way in which our comfortable certainty was torn from us. Although you will also notice that once we have seen this particular shock tactic used, it becomes part of the array of horror genre possibilities to which we are alert as we watch our next horror movie (see Scream 2, for example). In fact it becomes part of the genre, something we look out for in subsequent films. In this way genre, and more importantly genre expectations, change and develop as ﬁlmmakers play with the norms of their chosen genre. (If we are enthusiastic enough to know some old horror ﬁlms, we might even recall that it was Hitchcock who had his heroine killed off in a similarly challenging way in the middle of Psycho (1960), and armed with this knowledge we might not be quite so shocked by the opening to Scream.) In a similar way but in a very different genre, East is East (O’Donnell, 1999) (see FS3 British Cinema – Comedy) is commonly seen as a comedy and yet if we approach it with too simplistic a notion of what a comedy can be, then it will confront us with some particularly challenging dramatic moments. This is a comedy that examines physical abuse within the home and is prepared to take on the potentially tragic aspects of a fundamentally loving inter-cultural relationship. It challenges our notions of what a comedy can be, or should be.

ACTIVITY . . . ■

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Choose any ﬁlm you have seen recently and decide how you would describe it in genre terms (it might be a ﬁlm that you see as related in genre terms to Scream). List the visual signiﬁers and sound signiﬁers that you believe conﬁrm your categorization. Try to find time to compare your ideas with those of other people. Pay particular attention to similarities and differences between your ideas and those of anyone who has considered a ﬁlm from the same genre as you.

Genre as a film language The rules and conventions of genre constitute a type of language, or code, by which ﬁlmmakers construct ﬁlm whilst at the same time also operating as a language, or code, by which the audiences read ﬁlm. However, these rules and conventions are subject to change over time as social outlooks alter or filmmakers develop the genre. So, the horror ‘rules’ were changed by Drew Barrymore’s character being killed off within the opening sequence to Scream, and this has now became part of the set of horror genre possibilities.

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Gaining pleasure from the expected and the unexpected Making choices within the conventional expectations of the audience for a particular genre will give that audience a certain comforting pleasure; we feel we know where we are and that we have been given what we have come to see. However, making choices outside the conventional paradigms, or sets of possibilities, available within any given genre will create a surprise for the audience, which can be at least as pleasurable as fulﬁlling expectations. KEY TERM

PARADIGM The term used to describe the range of choices available at any given moment of film construction. This covers a huge area, everything from which actor from the paradigm of possible actors should be chosen to play a given role, to which hat (from the paradigm ranging from no hat to top hat to deerstalker) a character should wear at any given point in a ﬁlm. It is a useful term for us for one reason only and that is it reminds us that at all times choices are being made in the construction of ﬁlms and it is our job to try and decide why those choices might have been made.

The use of a black sheriff in Blazing Saddles (Brooks, 1974) or the use of a whaling harpoon as weapon of choice in Terror in a Texas Town (Lewis, 1958), challenges our expectations of the western but also in the process excites us as a result of the novelty of the take on genre conventions that is being offered to us. One of our central notions of what romantic comedies are all about is severely challenged by the idea that Maggie Carpenter (Julia Roberts) in Runaway Bride (Marshall, 1999) should ﬁght shy of marriage rather than going all out to obtain it. As with the mask in Scream (inspired by the iconic painting of the same name by Munch) and a scene such as that in the garage in the same ﬁlm the effort is always to ﬁnd new iconographic effects for the genre.

ACTIVITY . . . ■

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Imagine that you were to change the actors playing the lead roles in any ﬁlm you have seen recently. What might have been the most bizarrely inappropriate possible choices? Discuss your ideas with others if possible. Take a genre you know well and decide what events you can imagine happening that would most upset your expectations for that genre. Again, discuss and compare your ideas with other people.

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Figure 3.2 Publicity poster for Runaway Bride Source: Paramount Pictures / Touchstone Pictures / RGA

In horror ﬁlms the viewer knows a series of killings is likely to be carried out but the hoped-for novelty of how, when and where remain to be discovered. Similarly, as we journey with Mills and Somerset and the killer towards the final scene in Seven, as viewers of psychological thrillers we know there is going to be some disturbing ﬁnal

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twist. We know we are inhabiting the lull before the ﬁnal storm and in one sense we await to have our expectations fulfilled, but our hope is that this will occur in an unexpected way that we have not previously experienced. In Runaway Bride we have been startled by the opening concept of a woman who is fearful of marriage, but if we know the genre well we will probably hold on to the hope that the resolution will be a bringing together of the key characters in a heterosexual romance.

ACTIVITY . . . ■

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Can you think of any films you have seen where your normal genre expectations have been challenged in some way, or where the usual formula has been given some powerful new twist? List your ideas and discuss them with other people, taking careful note of their ideas as well as your own.

Hybrid genres The fun audiences derive from having their expectations fulﬁlled on the one hand and on the other subverted has been intensified in recent years by the way in which ﬁlmmakers have been happy to mix genres in order to create hybrid, or crossed, genres. In Scream there is a clear mix throughout the ﬁlm of ‘teenpic’ with the ‘slasher’ movie; a mix which really creates something new, a ‘teen horror’. KEY TERM

TEENPIC A film featuring teenagers as the central characters and aimed at teenage audiences. The stories focus on the sorts of problems and difﬁculties faced by young people of this age.

KEY TERM

SLASHER MOVIE A type of horror film in which the story revolves around psychotic males with plans to murder a group of young people. This subgenre was at its height in the 1970s and early 1980s with ﬁlms such as The Texas Chain Saw Massacre (Hooper, 1974), Halloween (Carpenter, 1978), Friday the 13th (Cunningham, 1980) and Nightmare on Elm Street (Craven, 1984). (There is often a disturbingly strong focus on the brutal murders of teenage girls, but there is also usually a ‘ﬁnal girl’ who heroically wins out at the end and has been seen as an empowering female character.)

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To some extent this mixing of genres has always taken place: noir films from the 1940s and 1950s were always thrillers and often also detective films. And in Seven, dealt with as a noir ﬁlm in a case study at the end of this chapter, you will recognize elements throughout that might well lead you to classify this too as a detective ﬁlm or a thriller. In a modern ﬁlm like From Dusk Till Dawn (Rodriguez, 1995) however something genuinely different occurs; rather than there being a hybrid mix throughout there is a sudden moment when the film moves from being a road movie and becomes a vampire/zombie film. This is a much more dangerous strategy for filmmakers since it breaks the unspoken pact between producers and audience under which the ﬁlmmakers have agreed to make a certain type of ﬁlm that the spectators have agreed to watch. The break is so abrupt that it risks alienating the audience rather than delighting them.

Genre and binary analysis From the point of view of genre analysis, as an alternative to looking for telltale iconography that reveals ﬁlm type it is also possible to list oppositions found within a ﬁlm. Different genres are often concerned with different sets of oppositions, and as a result have different thematic concerns. These are known as binary oppositions (a term mentioned previously in the chapter on narrative). ■

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In romantic comedies there is often a sense of a difﬁcult opposition between the two central romantic ﬁgures that needs some how to be bridged if they are to be brought together. Often the woman may desire marriage while the man ﬁghts shy of such commitment. Westerns often focus to some extent on the tension between the untamed natural world to be found in the ‘wild’ West and ‘civilized’ city-based society in the East. (See Maggie Greenwald’s The Ballad of Little Jo (1993) for a feminist perspective on this genre.)

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GENRE

KEY TERM

ZOMBIE FILM A horror sub-genre in which the dead (the zombies) come back to life and attack the living. See Night of the Living Dead (Romero, 1968) and Shaun of the Dead (Wright, 2004) to compare older and more recent treatments of the genre.

KEY TERM

VAMPIRE MOVIE A horror sub-genre that owes a lot to Bram Stoker’s novel Dracula (1897) and again tends to feature male characters preying upon female victims, on this occasion by sucking their blood.

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Film noir has classically often been concerned with the antagonism between a seductive (but deadly) female and a male character at the mercy of these alluring charms. Horror often focuses upon the opposed extreme possibilities of human nature with women as the embodiment of trusting innocence and vulnerability and a male ﬁgure as the personiﬁcation of violent predatory desire: in short we inhabit a world that contains both good and most frighteningly, evil.

For each of these genres it would be possible to trace the existence of a host of other related oppositions. In a romantic comedy like Notting Hill (Michell, 1999) (this film could be considered further under FS3 British and Irish Cinema – Comedy) it is not just the sense that our two characters come from different social worlds but also that they represent in a sense England and America and that these countries somehow stand for oppositions between perhaps an intellectual literary culture and a rather shallow popular culture founded upon fame and wedded to financial accumulation as a barometer of success. And, since Nosferatu (Murnau, 1922) (this ﬁlm could be considered further under FS5 Studies in World Cinema – German and Soviet Cinema of the 1920s) in ﬁlm terms, and beyond that back into gothic novels and ultimately folk tales, the horror genre has explored the relationship of our comfortable, everyday experience of society to the hidden danger of the dark outsider lurking just beyond the pale; or, in an even more potent variation, the relationship of the community to the hidden monster lurking unnoticed within society.

ACTIVITY . . . ■ ■

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Consider any ﬁlm you have seen recently from a particular genre and decide how you would view it thematically in terms of binary oppositions. Taking two strongly opposed characters within a film and listing their characteristics can sometimes help to make the central oppositions within the whole ﬁlm clear. Think of other ﬁlms you know in the same genre. Are the ideas you have come up with for your ﬁlm generally used as oppositions within the genre?

The recurrence of themes and interests across genres We might also explore the ways in which different genres find different ways of negotiating, managing, or dealing with the same fundamental social issues. The city, for example, which is a focus of noir ﬁlms also often appears in science ﬁction ﬁlms where it is frequently a place of dehumanized brutality and isolation not so different from the labyrinthine place of entrapment found in noir ﬁlms (see for example Blade Runner (Scott, 1982) and Total Recall (Verhoeven, 1990)). In sci-ﬁ it is usually very clear that it is human society which has brought things to this situation. It is not, as with horror, that there is some inexplicable evil at the heart of man but that governments

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or huge corporations have mechanized, de-personalized and regimented the human experience of life. The city in Seven is the dark, foreboding place of rain found in Blade Runner, but interestingly it is also the place of horror where evil lurks in human form as well as being the nightmare world of noir ﬁlms. As we explore genres in more depth what is often most startling is the extent of the overlapping interests that emerge. Romantic comedies deal humorously with misunderstandings between the sexes that get in the way of the achievement of harmonious heterosexual marriage. They focus on women who desire the state of matrimony and men who to begin with are none too sure it is what they want. But the re-assertion of the role, value and importance of marriage (at a time, we might note, when more couples have been choosing not to get married) is not conﬁned to romantic comedies. There is, for instance, a sub-plot that runs throughout the American ‘feel-good’ alien invasion sci-fi film Independence Day (Emmerich, 1993) that is entirely devoted to re-asserting romantic love and the institution of marriage. This strand of the ﬁlm comes to a climax worthy of the most romantic of romantic comedies when as one couple get married the second couple who were parted before the ﬁlm began hold hands and we see the wedding ring that has been loyally worn by the man throughout the time of their separation. Similarly, at the end of a comedy such as The Full Monty (Cattaneo, 1997) (see FS3 British Cinema – Comedy) that does not have a dominant romantic focus, one of the clear implications is the re-establishment of romantic links between each of the two central couples. The partners in each relationship have been estranged from each other for different reasons but the use of camerawork and editing visually reunites them for us in an emotionally gratifying way in the ﬁnal scene. The value of this sort of approach to genre is that by looking at ﬁlms in this way we will be able to identify particular themes that are of central concern to a range of ﬁlms that do not initially appear to be linked by an analysis based upon simple iconography.

ACTIVITY . . . ■ ■

Can you think of any two ﬁlms (or more) you have seen from different genres where the same thematic concerns or interests have been apparent? Take time to jot down any ideas you might have on this before discussing the issue with other people. Take careful note of their ideas as well as your own.

Genre as a means of bringing order There is a sense in which genre is like narrative in giving a certain shape and order to events. Each genre can be seen as a set of rules that allow the shaping of the disorder of life into some sort of controllable order. Within ﬁlm genres the insoluble problems and contradictions of life can be, if not resolved, at least shaped into manageable, understandable forms. By the end of Collateral (Mann, 2004) the psychopathic killer in our midst has been tamed by the ordinary guy who through the experience has somehow been elevated to the status of hero.

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ACTIVITY . . . Consider any ﬁlm you have seen recently from a particular genre and decide what sorts of ‘dangers’ might be said to be dealt with by the ﬁlm. Are the ‘dangers’ you have come up with generally to be found within ﬁlms from this particular genre?

You should expect to develop further this sort of approach to genre during the second year of the Film Studies A-level but it is worth giving it some initial thought at this stage. Genre as a marketing strategy Finally, it should also be noted that genre conveniently operates as a marketing and production strategy, enabling the audience to establish the type of product on offer and therefore to purchase its favoured ﬂavour of ﬁlm. So, when you enter a DVD rental outlet or a shop selling DVDs, the posters and the DVD boxes themselves will usually announce fairly speciﬁcally the genre of the products on offer. At the same time in production terms clearly marked out genres enable the economic organization of materials and workers to take place, as seen for example in the production of a whole string of gangster films in the 1930s by Warner Brothers or a whole string of British comedies by ‘the makers of Four Weddings and a Funeral’. Re-making the same ﬁlm with some difference enables sets, locations, costumes and other elements of film fabric to be re-used and helps to set up easily reproducible working patterns in which little time is lost in preparation because the cast and crew have essentially done it all before.

ACTIVITY . . . Take any recent ﬁlm and study the ways in which it has been sold to the public through advertising, posters, DVD boxes, etc. How important has genre been in the marketing strategies employed?

FILM NOIR General features Film noir was a term initially used by French critics (literally ‘dark’ or ‘black ﬁlm’) to describe Hollywood ﬁlms of the 1940s and early 1950s characterized by cynicism and pessimism and set within an oppressive urban world of crime and corruption. The ‘heroes’ are usually disillusioned men who face an uncertain future alone. Friendship is difﬁcult and only possible at a certain distance. Love is most usually perverted in some way, and innocence cannot survive.

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In style the ﬁlms are dark, stark and bleak with sets dominated by shadows of various depth and threat, and frames that often contain black or fog-bound or smoky spaces that threaten to engulf not only the characters but the film itself and the society it presents for our attention (as a classic example see the ending to The Big Combo (Lewis, 1955) with the blinking, uncertain light offering only a faint possibility of hope for the future). Influence of German Expressionism The trend towards this type of ﬁlm in the period is seen as having been inﬂuenced by the inﬂux of immigrant ﬁlmmakers from central Europe and disillusionment caused by the Second World War. It has also been suggested it was economically driven by the cutbacks in sets and lighting made during the war and more feasibly the desire to produce low budget ﬁlms with good percentage proﬁt margins. Certainly there is a strong sense in which these ﬁlms both in terms of cinematic style and bleak thematic content echo German Expressionist ﬁlm of the 1920s, a movement that can also be seen as having been inﬂuenced by the traumatic experience of world war. Reflecting the period Films of this sort from Hollywood in the 1940s and 1950s then tended to be cheap B-movies about life on the streets that investigate the darker side of human nature. This is an area of life, it could be argued, that mainstream Hollywood ﬁlms have tended to ignore other than in some unrealistic romanticized fashion. The central character in noir ﬁlms is caught in a nightmare experience, and is often trapped by a seductively alluring woman. Is this the continuation of wartime trauma in a domestic situation? Was there a sense of the world as a doomed place during this period? Is this, in some films at least, anything to do with the Cold War fear of communism? Is this the nightmare of ﬁlmmakers caught up in the McCarthyite era when anyone with socialist sympathies was liable to be ostracized? Psychoanalytically, is this a representation of the male fear of the emerging ‘new woman’? Or, is this simply an economically driven transposing of popular pulp ﬁction to the screen motivated by the realization that if pulp ﬁction sold there would also be a market for pulp ﬁlm? Technically, faster ﬁlms, portable cameras and button microphones made it increasingly possible at this time to ﬁlm on the streets and at night (see, for example, the bank heist and chase sequence in Gun Crazy (Lewis, 1949)).

ACTIVITY . . . 1

2

Watch the opening to The Big Combo and one modern neo-noir of your choice, perhaps Sin City (Tarantino, 2005). Make notes on the ways in which these ﬁlms announce their genre to us. As always, do try to discuss your ideas with others, if possible.

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More recent examples There was a revival of this style in the 1980s and early 1990s in ﬁlms such as Blade Runner (Scott, 1982), Jagged Edge (Marquand, 1985), Blue Velvet (Lynch, 1986), The Usual Suspects (Singer, 1995) and Seven. Perhaps it would be worth considering what social and political factors could be reﬂected in this renewal of interest in the darker side of humanity (if indeed this is not simply something that is always there in storytelling and is just expressed in slightly different ways in different periods).

ACTIVITY . . . If you have seen the whole of Sin City how does it ﬁt into this picture? Should it be seen correctly as the latest addition to the noir genre? And if so, how does it, while still being recognizable as part of the noir strand of genre ﬁlmmaking, reﬂect the contemporary period in which it was made?

Approaching noir films For ﬁlms in the classic noir or neo-noir mode it is always worth considering: ■ ■ ■ ■ ■ ■

the psychological exploration of the darker side of humankind that takes place; the social exploration of the darker side of society that takes place; the urban realism that often sees modern life as a labyrinthine hell; the use of light and shadow as representations of good and evil/danger; the use of sparse sets that could be seen to represent the bleak psychological world in some way; the use of psychological and actual violence, often within relationships and particularly within the sexual dimension of male–female relationships.

Case Study: Seven (1995) (Director: David Fincher. Screenwriter: Andrew Kevin Walker. Cinematographer: Darius Khondji. Music: Howard Shore. Cast: Brad Pitt (David Mills); Morgan Freeman (William Somerset); Gwyneth Paltrow (Tracey Mills); Kevin Spacey (John Doe).)

ACTIVITY . . . ■

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Watch the opening sequence built around the credits noting as many images and sounds as possible.

MAKING MEANING (FS1)

ACTIVITY . . . ■

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Record your impressions making sure to try to decide what this opening makes you think the ﬁlm will be about, justifying your ideas by reference to the images and sounds encountered. Discuss your ideas with a group of others, if possible. To what extent did you agree with each other’s assessments?

The relationship between two central characters In Seven we have the classic detective genre combination of the older, hard-bitten professional and the younger, less cynical prodigy. This is a combination often used in other genres of course such as the western. What it allows for is the classic confrontation and need for reconciliation between old age embodying experience of life and youth embodying enthusiasm for life. Of course, what we also have at work here is a potential father–son relationship and the working out of the tensions and joys to be found in that relationship. (Furthermore we also have the now often favoured Hollywood combination of lead actors: black and white.)

ACTIVITY . . . ■ ■

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Can you think of other black–white pairings of this sort? How do these relationships work? Is race an issue in these relationships? Isn’t it always an issue simply by being there on screen before us? Why do you think these combinations are used? Discuss your ideas with others if possible.

Use of ﬁlm noir genre What is very clear from the continual murky gloom and rain of the city to the dark central thematic idea of the seven deadly sins is this film’s noir heritage. Outside we are frequently positioned in such a way as to be surrounded by bleak, grey city buildings that tower over us, or we see things from behind fences that seem to cage and enclose. Inside we ﬁnd ourselves in dark corridors and box-like rooms, and always the intrusive sounds of the city remain inescapable. The city is this terrifying place where Tracey, the Ophelia-like embodiment of innocence, shudders at the thought of bringing up a young child and where even the perverse logic of the serial killing John Doe contains a horrifying element of truth. Notice the way in which even the calm, ordered, learned and apparently highly civilized Somerset has this midnight habit of throwing a switchblade at a dartboard. For

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Somerset, if Mills is his younger self with a belief that with others he can contribute towards bringing about change for the better, then Doe is almost his alter ego, an other self whose thinking as a result of his own world weary cynicism he is able to only too fully understand. Dark themes and outlook Anything that is good cannot live in this world of darkness and so the fate of Tracey and her unborn baby, as with Ophelia in Hamlet, is entirely to be expected. Notice how we do not see her death and even when John Doe talks about it, the details are left to our imagination. See as well the way in which it is not simply the death of Tracey that is at stake here but the death of hope and faith in humanity and conﬁdence in the future (see what happens ultimately to Mills). The evening meal scene in which we initially come to identify with Tracey also serves to set up her relationship with Mills as the ideal high school romance. They are in their ‘young love’ relationship in many ways the embodiment of ‘the American Dream’ and of course this is what is also therefore destroyed in the resolution phase. The woman here is not the femme fatale of classic postwar ﬁlm noirs but much more like the embodiment of innocence that has often had to sacriﬁce itself to save others in horror movies, only this time the sacrifice is pointless and fails to defeat evil. It is perhaps in this dimension of the ﬁlm, as much as in the central often commented upon triangular relationship between the male characters, that the way in which this ﬁlm reﬂects a late twentieth-century perspective can be seen most clearly.

ACTIVITY . . . ■ ■

Which parts of this ﬁlm did you ﬁnd most shocking? Why? Write down your ideas. Compare your thoughts with those of other people, if possible. Were there any similarities or interesting differences in your ideas?

Analysis of a scene The brothel scene in which the detectives investigate the ‘lust’ murder would serve as an excellent example of this ﬁlm’s style. We descend from the dark, chaotic streets above following the detectives down into the red hell-like depths of the brothel. We are confused by the noise, which makes it difﬁcult to pick out what is being said, and by the editing that works to further disorientate us as we struggle to get our bearings. The overall feeling is one of being enclosed in claustrophobic

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tunnel-like spaces, which is not relieved when we come into the dark boxed space of the room in which the murder took place. Here we are placed in such a position as to be unable to make out exactly what has happened. In other words we are left with further uncertainty and confusion. Only gradually in the interview session that follows are we permitted to piece together bit by horrifying bit the gruesome details of the murder. Shots such as that of the close-up of the male visitor to the brothel who has been forced to carry out the murder compel us to confront the full extent of the horror. The blank grey background and the white blanket framing his face only serve to make doubly sure that we concentrate on the actor’s facial performance; and isn’t it a powerful cameo performance?

ACTIVITY . . . Watch these two successive scenes and discuss with others the ways in which elements of ﬁlm construction work to create a speciﬁc impact on the audience.

The Christian context Sin is the concept of human faults that offend a God who embodies all good. These faults, or evil, bring with them a sense of guilt for any being with a conscience (and guilt of course carries connotations of the need for punishment). According to Christian teaching, the seven Deadly sins are anger, lust, gluttony, sloth, pride, envy and avarice.

ACTIVITY . . . Construct a ﬂow chart showing the narrative structure of this ﬁlm in terms of these seven sins showing how they relate to different elements of the plot.

The existence of sin in the wor ld brings with it the need for a Redeemer or Saviour, in Christian terms Christ, who is seen as having died for our sins, making himself a sacriﬁce that we might be forgiven. Without this sort of basic knowledge of the Christian religion it is difficult to fully appreciate Seven, but with it you begin to see the way in which John Doe could be seen to believe himself to be some sort of Messianic ﬁgure, perhaps even a divine agent sacriﬁcing himself in order to provide a message/lesson for humanity.

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ACTIVITY . . . ■ ■ ■

After you have watched the whole ﬁlm, return to the opening sequence. How has your reading of this section of the ﬁlm changed? What images and sounds seem signiﬁcant now in ways that they did not to begin with?

ACTIVITY . . . 1 2

3

Analyse a sequence of no more than ten minutes from a film of your own choice in terms of its genre and narrative structure. Make notes on your chosen sequence and then if possible discuss your ideas with somebody else, or several others, who are looking at or know well the same ﬁlm. Write an analysis (1,000–1,500 words) of the ways in which genre and narrative structure work to create meaning and generate audience response in your chosen sequence. Give your piece a title in the form of a question:

How do genre and narrative structure work to create meaning and generate audience response in the (name or timing of scene) scene in (name of ﬁlm)?

CONCLUSION ■ ■ ■

Genres have distinctive individual characteristics that enable us to distinguish one from another in a general functional way. Genres can be understood as being utilized by ﬁlmmakers, spectators and the ﬁlm industry in a variety of ways. Often the boundaries between genres will be blurred and similar interests/ concerns will be detectable across genres.

FURTHER READING Abrams, N., Bell, I. and Udris, J. (2001) Studying Film, Arnold: London (Chapter 10). Altman, R. (1999) Film/genre, London: BFI. Armstrong, R. (2005) Understanding Realism, London: BFI (Chapter 3). Cameron, I. (1992) The Movie Book of Film Noir, London: Studio Vista. Hayward, S. (2005) Cinema Studies: the Key Concepts, London and New York: Routledge. Lacey, N. (2005) Introduction to Film, Basingstoke and New York: Palgrave Macmillan (Chapter 2).

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Neale, S. (2000) Genre and Hollywood, London and New York: Routledge. Phillips, W.H. (2005) Film: An Introduction, 3rd edn, Boston: Bedford/St Martin’s (Chapter 6). Scorsese, M. (1999) A Personal Journey Through American Movies, London: Faber.

USEFUL WEBSITES www.bfi.org.uk www.filmeducation.org www.filmsite.org en.wikipedia.org

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4 OVERVIEW How should we approach a film we have not seen before?

This chapter deals with: ■ ■ ■

essential questions to ask yourself when studying a new ﬁlm; the importance of adopting a proactive, questioning attitude; possible model approaches to interrogating ﬁlms.

NOTEBOX . . . In terms of preparing for the WJEC’s AS in Film Studies, this chapter should help you to draw together ideas from the opening chapters and consolidate a sensibly organized approach to the viewing of ﬁlms. Most directly this chapter will be of relevance to the work you will be doing under FS1 – Film: Making Meaning and FS3 – Messages and Values: British and Irish Cinema for the AS (and FS5 – Studies in World Cinema for the second year of A Level study).

FILMS MENTIONED If you are working your way through the whole or parts of this chapter you will find it helpful to have access to scenes, clips and single shots from at least some of the following ﬁlms: ■ ■ ■ ■ ■

My Beautiful Laundrette (Frears, 1985) My Son the Fanatic (Prasad, 1997) Independence Day (Emmerich, 1993) La Haine (Kassowitz, 1995) Sin City (Tarantino, 2005)

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QUESTIONS By now you should have noticed just how much emphasis is being placed in this book on the need to adopt a continually questioning approach towards ﬁlm. In order to analyse a ﬁlm text, it is being suggested we need to be prepared to ask ourselves a whole range of key questions. This chapter will try to give a brief overview of what those central questions should be. The fundamental basis to this approach is that we should always confront ourselves with the question of why the ﬁlmmakers have chosen to use certain sounds or images at particular points in their ﬁlm. Remembering that there are a whole array of possible choices and combinations of choices before the ﬁlmmakers (with regards to setting, costume, props, performance, camerawork, sound and editing) we must question why particular clearly identiﬁable choices have been made. Posing questions for ourselves as we watch ﬁlms is at the heart of ﬁlm analysis. In order to study film effectively we need to have questions like the following in mind throughout the viewing experience: 1

Messages and values ■

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What are the main subject areas of interest in this ﬁlm and what are the main themes and ideas being addressed? Could it be said that there are certain key messages and values that underpin the ﬁlm? Answering these sorts of questions demands the ability to be able to stand back from the narrative and attempt to see the ﬁlm from an objective distance but we can make it seem to be much more difficult than it actually is. For example, if the ﬁlm is made within a predominantly white society but focuses on an ethnic minority, as with something like My Beautiful Laundrette (Frears, 1985) or My Son the Fanatic (Prasad, 1997) (this film could be considered further under FS3 British and Irish Cinema – Single Study Films), then the ﬁlm will inevitably be dealing with issues of race in some form or other. And, if you have a Hollywood film that is called Thelma and Louise (Scott, 1991) there is a good chance that in some form or other it might have something to say about the female experience in modern Western society. Or, if you have a ﬁlm entitled Independence Day (Emmerich, 1993) it is very likely to be addressing the American understanding of the United States as a freedom-loving democracy. Of course, you need to go further than this and ask in some detail exactly how men and women, or different races, cultures and creeds are represented in any particular ﬁlm. Do they comply with stereotypical role models, or defy the conventional and challenge social norms in some way? Or, how exactly are ideas of democracy and freedom being represented and with what relationship to the politics of the real world?

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KEY TERM

MESSAGES AND VALUES Films can be seen in some sense to embody certain messages that they are working to communicate to the audience. They can also be seen to be attempting to advance certain values while questioning others.

La Haine (Kassowitz, 1995) has been attacked as a ﬁlm that has a message that is anti-police: whether this is true or not would depend upon how we interpreted characters and scenes within the ﬁlm and how we understood the ﬁlmmakers to be using film construction techniques to emphasize and elevate certain perspectives above others.

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Genre ■

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Narrative ■

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Is this film typical of any particular genre (sci-fi, horror, action, comedy, musical, road movie, etc.) or sub-genre (dystopia, alien invasion, ‘slasher’, vampire, zombie, etc.)? In what ways is it typical and in what ways is it not typical (atypical)? Could this ﬁlm be said to use several genres, and if so which ones and why have they been combined in this way? Does it demonstrate the current trend towards hybrid genres? More importantly, how does the chosen genre relate to views and perspectives in society in general? How does it reflect the period in which it has been made? How does a noir ﬁlm like Sin City (Tarantino, 2005), for example, adapt its particular chosen genre and in doing so reﬂect contemporary society?

How is the story being told: is a narrator used, and if so, why? Does he or she have a marginal or important role in the story itself? What effect does using a narrator or not, have on the perspective given to the viewer? How effective is the opening, and what makes it so? How effective is the ending, and what makes it so? Are there clear moments of complication and climax within the ﬁlm? Could you plot as if on a graph the rising tensions and climaxes of the story? Could you usefully complete a diagram, or diagrams, representing the relationships between characters within the story? Are conventional aspects of storytelling such as the confrontation between good and evil, or the use of a journey as a narrative device being employed? And most importantly what are the meanings being created for us by the particular narrative structure and devices being employed?

Mise en scène ■

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What would be your evaluation of the performances of the actors? Are the characters created complex or simple to understand? Is their motivation clear? Are they rounded and complex, or ﬂat and stereotypical? What is the social status of each character and how dominant are they? Does their use of language reﬂect their character? What tone or attitude does each adopt? What ideas or feelings are being expressed? What can you tell about the character from the body language and delivery of lines? How long does each person speak and what does this tell us (in

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Cinematography ■

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Are there any scenes or single shots in which you think the camerawork has been particularly effective? If so, how and why do you believe it to be successful? What signiﬁcance do particular shots or camera movements have in terms of creating meaning for us? (Referring to particular shots and scenes to illustrate meaning in this way will be a key skill.) What is the signiﬁcance of the lighting in particular scenes? Are some scenes particularly light or dark? If so, why? How is shadow being used? Is it being used in particular ways in relation to particular characters?

Sound ■

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different circumstances it could convey different things of course – a silent foreboding Clint Eastwood in a spaghetti western is very different from someone who is being marginalized by the force of events taking place such as the rookie policeman forced to witness a racist attack by fellow ofﬁcers in the interrogation room in La Haine)? What is the signiﬁcance of costume in particular scenes? Does it help to convey character and/or oppositions? Does it operate to mark out particular groups? Is it simply used to suggest period and place? Are the costumes wonderfully authentic but actually used to little effect in terms of conveying meaning to the audience? Are there any signiﬁcant uses of props? Are there any props used in such a way as to become recurring images? Do the props remind us of themes or ideas in the ﬁlm, or tell us something about character? How is the setting or location used? Is it used to create a sense of realism? Is it used to create mood? Is it used to create a sense of certain states of mind or feelings? Is it used to stand for, or symbolically represent, other things?

Do any extracts from the dialogue seem to be especially important? In what ways might these lines be seen to be signiﬁcant? Why have particular words or phrases been chosen? If it is a Hollywood script the dialogue will have been honed to the bare minimum in all probability which only means each utterance is even more certain to have been chosen for a speciﬁc reason. Are sound effects used simply to create a sense of place, or do they in some way contribute towards meaning over and above this? What is the signiﬁcance of the music chosen for particular scenes? How does it work to contribute to the creation of meaning? Is it diegetic or non-diegetic (see page 100), and what difference does this make?

Editing ■

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Is the pace of the editing in particular scenes giving us images that are ﬂashing quickly before us, or images that we are able to survey in a leisurely way? Why has this style been chosen? How do the shots, as they are structured into sequences via editing, work to create meaning? Is the way in which one shot follows another used in such a way as to allow one to comment in some way on the other?

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Which images are stressed? Why? Are there repetitions of certain visual images, or parallels between individual shots or sequences?

PROACTIVE READING With so much to look out for this must mean that our reading of films has to be intensely active and analytical; at no time should we sit before the screen in classic ‘couch potato’ mode. Naturally there is an extent to which we may simply wish to enjoy the cinema experience on ﬁrst encountering any ﬁlm. However, even during a ﬁrst viewing we should remain alert otherwise potentially we end up at the position apparently reached by a majority in Hitler’s Germany of accepting the implied message behind watching shots of Jews inter-cut with shots of rats scurrying across the screen. Passivity before the media in any form allows that medium to be used not as a site of democratic discussion but as an agent of indoctrination. Josef Goebbels apparently said of Jew Suss (Harlen, 1940) in which the central character, an ‘evil Jew’, rapes Aryan women that it was: ‘Highly recommended for its artistic value, and to serve the politics of the state recommended for young people.’

NOTEBOX . . . The main approach to be adopted is always to move from the specific to the general. Observe the details of ﬁlm construction closely and then think carefully about why the particulars of form and style have been chosen. If you cannot ﬁnd enough to say about a particular scene it means you are not observing the ﬁne details of ﬁlm construction closely enough. Try to, as it were, ‘zoom in’ closer, slow down your viewing, go back over a scene time and again as you work to understand what is happening under each area of ﬁlm construction.

A PRACTICAL APPROACH Obviously investigating a ﬁlm in this way means that there are big questions raised that can never be answered in any ﬁnal sense. Is La Haine anti-police? The presence of the police within so many controversial scenes within the film means it must be seen to raise the question of the role of the police in relation to the issue of race within contemporary French society, but whether this makes it anti-police is another question. The point to be aware of is that we will never get to the stage of even noticing the existence of these bigger issues within the ﬁlm unless we devote ourselves to a detailed questioning of the text. It is in the asking of the little ‘why’ questions (why is there that little moment in La Haine where Sayid and Hubert get Vinz to speak for them when they enter the expensive block of flats in central Paris?) that we stumble along our way towards some awareness of the larger issues that could be at stake. (Quite simply, Sayid is of ethnic Arab descent and Hubert is black, while Vinz, although a Jew, is at least

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white. It is a minute incident that we can easily miss but if we slow our viewing down so that we notice it, it becomes a telling comment.) Before you can begin to answer some of the questions posed by a ﬁlm like La Haine you may need to have watched the ﬁlm several times and have taken some notes along the way. If you are studying in a formal way you will need to sit for some time with a DVD (or video) stopping and starting it, rewinding and re-running it, and all the time adding to your notes.

NOTEBOX . . . On a practical note, you might ﬁnd it useful ﬁrst time around to leave sizeable spaces between individual ideas that you note down. These gaps can then be filled in with further ideas during subsequent viewings. Ideally, you should also aim to write down timings next to notes in order to make it easier to ﬁnd signiﬁcant sections at a later date.

Your notes should be made up of references to settings, characters, props (and perhaps their symbolic signiﬁcance), the soundtrack, themes and ideas that the ﬁlm seems to be addressing, clues about the director’s approach, ideas on the acting approaches being taken, and possibly signiﬁcant extracts from the script; in other words, all of the areas detailed briefly above and a little more fully in previous chapters. A series of viewings should allow your reading to become steadily less narrative-driven and increasingly technically and thematically analytical.

ACTIVITY . . . 1

2

Choose your own film to analyse, preferably one you have at home and therefore can easily access. As you are watching this ﬁlm for the ﬁrst time note any interesting elements of ﬁlm construction, but at the same time try to put down ideas you might have about when and where this ﬁlm is set. After you have watched the ﬁlm write 200–300 words assessing how important you think it might be to understand the historical context in order to gain a full appreciation of this ﬁlm.

ACTIVITY . . . 1 2

Re-watch the opening to this film several times and make detailed notes about ﬁlm construction. Spend time discussing with others if possible how this opening sequence works in terms of creating meanings for the audience and generating responses. continued

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3

Write a commentary (500–600 words) discussing the ways in which meanings are created and responses generated in this sequence.

CONCLUSION Approaching a new ﬁlm requires that we: ■ ■

already know the sort of questions that need to be asked of any ﬁlm; apply those questions in a probing, analytical way.

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▼

5 PRACTICAL APPLICATION OF LEARNING

In this chapter we look at: ■ ■ ■

how learning from other areas of the course can be applied to a piece of practical work (storyboarding, screenwriting, or production); how to develop ideas in a cinematic way; practical techniques of constructing storyboards, screenplays, and filmed extracts.

Studying ﬁlm offers a wealth of learning about technique, styles, approaches, methods, and devices which of itself is a fantastic way of understanding more about how ﬁlms make meaning, and what ﬁlmmakers have to do in order to get their meanings across to audiences. A great way to make further sense of this learning is to use it to make a ﬁlmed sequence, a short ﬁlm, or even a feature, and in doing so apply the learning that has been gained in other areas of the course. The Practical Application of Learning (PAL) allows this earlier learning to be applied to a choice of practical projects in order to convey meaning to a specific, defined, audience, and in doing so demonstrate constructional and technical ability. Whilst it is an opportunity to apply previous learning, it is also the opportunity to develop new learning in the practical arena, and practise skills that are used in all areas of the ﬁlm industry to make ﬁlms.

NOTEBOX . . . PAL: film form A number of macro and micro aspects can be applied directly to the construction of a practical piece of work:

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Narrative – a structuring device, both across a whole film and across a single scene or sequence. The ordering of information within a practical piece of work is of vital signiﬁcance to how a spectator will make meaning from it. Genre – the use of signifying devices within a practical piece of work that are recognizable as belonging to a group of ﬁlms. Use of codes and conventions will help structure a work and ensure the spectator views it in terms of other similar ﬁlms. Cinematography, editing, mise en scène, performance, and sound – these aspects are all directly manipulated either by technicians or by the director in order to maximize the opportunity to ensure an audience is exposed to an intended meaning. These are elements that are absolutely in the control of a ﬁlmmaker: there should be nothing in a shot, scene, sequence, or film, that is there accidentally, as all these ingredients should have been within the ﬁlmmakers’ control.

In the PAL there are three options for the creation of practical work, each in equal value to another, and each developing and demanding particular skill bases: ■

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Screenplay: the opportunity to script a key sequence from an imagined ﬁlm, where activity is the key and where dialogue is kept to a minimum. What is important here is that the story is treated cinematically, in that it is clear that this is a story for the screen and not just a play or novel that happens to be in screenplay form. Storyboard (photographed or drawn): the opportunity to sketch out how a movie sequence would look as it moves from shot to shot. Whilst drawing or photographic skills are not being judged here (so stick men and less than representative photos are accepted), framing is absolutely vital. Using lens-based media to produce a storyboard clearly allows the maker to get a better understanding of how things actually look within a frame, and how they relate to other frames. The individual frames are important, but the transitions between frames – and the interplay between frames are equally important. Video production: the opportunity to put together a short (1–2 minute) sequence and ﬁlmically apply both macro and micro learning. If this is made by a group, then each group member must take responsibility for a particular micro component relevant to their role. It is accepted that there will be varying quality between productions (some may be shooting on a domestic VHS camera whilst others may be using Digi-Beta and a Steadicam rig), but it is the approach to the role and the achievement despite any limitations that are signiﬁcant here.

Accompanying each of these three options are two pieces of written work that give the practical production work a context, and offer a reﬂection on intentions and on the finished work. The ‘cinematic ideas’ is the first piece of work that goes towards the project and sets out to outline intended approaches and devices, along with a brief (100-word maximum) summary of the imagined ﬁlm from which the sequence comes.

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At the other end of the process, after the production work is completed, comes the ‘evaluation’ where the filmmaker evaluates the success of the production work in making meaning. These practical skills developed in the PAL are the building blocks of ﬁlmmaking, and as such are the essential tools for making meaning. Each contributes to the production line that is ﬁlmmaking – script, storyboard, ﬁlm – and all stem from the most important fundamental: the idea.

NOTEBOX . . . The idea The idea is the key starting point for any practical work and as such it is worth spending some time working through an idea to make it as good as it can get. An idea initially develops into an outline for a story, and as such may well begin to grow characters. At this stage it is important to keep control of the idea to stop it spiralling off into unstructured developments. This can be done very easily by applying a simple set of questions: 1 2 3

4

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What is the situation? This opens the story and may well be disrupted. Whose situation is it? This deﬁnes the lead character (or protagonist). What is the central quest? This relates to the main body of the story and is often deﬁned by a lead character trying to restore what has been disrupted. This is where most conﬂict and drama arises in a story and is often described simply as the ‘conﬂict’. Who stands in the way of success? This deﬁnes another principal character who will be in opposition to the lead character (and is often referred to as the ‘antagonist’). How does the quest end? Often this will be where the antagonist is defeated, and the protagonist’s situation is restored. This is often called the resolution.

Once the story idea is ﬂeshed out, it is then important to check whether or not it is actually a ﬁlmic idea. If it is set in one room with two characters talking to each other for 90 minutes then it may be better placed on the stage. If it involves considerable internal monologue (the characters’ thoughts rather than their actions or conversations) then it may well make a better novel or short story. Filmic ideas are ones that involve action – not necessarily ﬁghts and car chases, but rather activity – characters doing things on screen. Activity is visual, and this is most important in film stories. Activity tells an audience not only about the events, but about the characters performing those events. A character who dashes off a perfect love letter is deﬁned by the activity in the same way as

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the character who spends the scene crossing lines out, screwing up paper and throwing it to the ﬂoor, and sitting with pen in mouth looking skyward. Similarly the character of a bank robber is deﬁned by their actions – the hooded ﬁgure that bludgeons a customer to the ﬂoor to make a point is different from the suited robber who passes a note calmly to a bank clerk and walks away with the money without the customers even realising a robbery is taking place.

CINEMATIC IDEAS This piece of paperwork is extremely important not only in explaining the meanings you are trying to develop and the learning you are applying in one of the three practical activities, but also in getting your thoughts in order to undertake the practical activity. As such it is possibly the most important assessed element. It is always advisable to head this with an appropriate title for the ﬁlm: ‘Galaxy Wars’ does far more to locate a ﬁlm in its genre and narrative form than ‘Imaginary Film’, and shows that the creator has genuinely thought about the nature of the ﬁlm, and is making the effort to engage with the task. The cinematic ideas should begin with a very brief (no more than 100 words) summary of the imagined film from which the sequence comes that is to be scripted, storyboarded, or ﬁlmed. This should be a straightforward telling of the story, and not the cliff-hanger type synopsis found on the back of a DVD or video box. It should identify the principal characters and should outline the situation, conﬂict and resolution of the story. This is the context for the sequence selected for creating, and so should allow the marker the opportunity to place the sequence in relation to the rest of the imagined ﬁlm. Following this contextualizing summary, the focus switches from the overview to the speciﬁc, from the ﬁlm in general to the chosen sequence in particular. It is worth noting at the start where the sequence comes in the overall order of the ﬁlm, and then identify the micro and macro elements involved in its production.

NOTEBOX . . . For groups carrying out a video project it should be noted that each group member’s cinematic ideas should be different: it should be their summary of the ﬁlm (not a combined group summary) and the macro and micro elements should relate to each member’s chosen focus and role (so, for example, the camera operator may well look at cinematography and/or mise en scène).

If the ﬁlm has been identiﬁed as a genre ﬁlm then it would be sensible to highlight how genre-speciﬁc macro and micro elements will appear and shape the sequence.

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Similarly, if the ﬁlm is adopting a particular style (documentary realism for example) then the sequence should reﬂect this, particularly in the micro elements as these will be more identiﬁable in the sequence. It is worth writing a number of drafts of the cinematic ideas in order to craft the words to maximize the potential for success. This also serves to encourage a way of thinking about the sequence and the ﬁlm as a whole that sees it not as ﬁxed as soon as the ﬁrst idea hits the page, but as fluid and continually developing. Drafting the cinematic ideas allows each idea to be questioned, challenged, and weighed against the others in the piece, resulting in only the strongest, most focused remaining in place.

NOTEBOX . . . Example cinematic ideas – The Crossing This is a crime thriller set in a modern Eastern European republic. A British diplomat’s visiting teenage son, Mike Harrington witnesses a horrific ‘hit’ on an American businessman. Scheduled to testify against the gangsters, the embassy is bombed and Mike’s family killed. Emerging from the wreckage with American journalist Patty Flyte, both are pursued by secret police, MI6, the CIA and gangsters. Betrayed by friends, unsure who to trust, they are shot at, imprisoned, chased, and nearly drowned, before reaching the border with a ‘friendly’ neighbouring country where they meet and destroy the crime boss (Mike’s diplomat father) to make the crossing. (99 words) The sequence comes approximately ﬁve minutes into the ﬁlm after the initial set-up of locations, characters and relationships usual in such genre films. It begins with Mike walking across a brightly lit grand square, noticeably ﬁlled with military personnel and checkpoints to indicate that it is a military state and dangerous. Initially the shots are framed in ELS and LS to establish the location and orientate the viewer, but also to depict Mike as insigniﬁcant within the scale of the scene. Occasionally the camera shot will cut to a hand-held shot from a high angle to suggest that someone is watching the events from a building. Lens ﬂare may be used to imply ‘realism’. As Mike reaches a café in the centre of the square and buys an ice-cream we ﬁrst see the American businessman sitting at a table in the rearground, highlighted by a shaft of sunlight, and dressed in a lighter suit than anyone else nearby to make him stand out in the crowd. At this point the high angle ELS zooms in on the scene to frame the man, de-focusing and then re-focusing to suggest the POV is from someone who is using a lens (perhaps a riﬂe sight?). As the gangster’s car screeches onto the square, the shots from here change to become MS, CU, and BCU, except for the ﬁnal shot which reverts to ELS to show the carnage.

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The editing of this sequence will be conventional in terms of the genre, with longer timed shots ﬁtting the ELS and LS, and shorter timed shots ﬁtting the MS, CU, and ECU. There will be a rhythm to the timing, and this will build gradually with shots becoming progressively shorter as the events get nastier. The shots of the American businessman getting shot will be rendered in slowmotion – usual in this genre. The ﬁnal ELS shot of the scene will be one of the longest to allow the spectator to take in the enormity of what Mike has witnessed. The sound will be naturalistic, and relatively quiet with a city atmosphere at the beginning. When the gangsters arrive, however, it will become loud to contrast, and the diegetic classical music playing on the café radio will become a non-diegetic theme that will play over the violence, again as a genre reference (like in Carlito’s Way) and to counterpoint the scene. (396 words – total 495 words)

You should notice that the above example (The Crossing) is divided between story and techniques, and that the ﬁrst paragraph (the summary) not only offers the situation, characters, quest and resolution (all in 99 words), but also sets a clear context for the sequence that is mapped out in the succeeding paragraphs. These paragraphs reference both macro (genre and narrative) and micro aspects in relation to particular points in the sequence. It is worth relating chosen aspects to specific points as this makes it clearer for the reader to imagine how they will work, but also demonstrates that the techniques employed have been thought through and located in the sequence, and so have clear relevance. The micro aspects considered include cinematography (lighting and camera), mise en scène (location and dress), sound (both diegetic and nondiegetic), and editing (pace, duration, rhythm).

KEY TERM

DIEGETIC SOUND Diegetic sound is the sound that is heard in the ﬁctional world, the sound that the characters in that world can hear. Most diegetic sound is not recorded ‘on location’ but is fabricated and ‘dubbed’ on to the film by sound designers and ‘foley artists’ (people who generate sound effects such as cutting into a cabbage to make the sound of someone being guillotined).

KEY TERM

NON-DIEGETIC SOUND This is the sound that is outside the ﬁctional world, and that characters in the ﬁctional world cannot hear. This would include overlays of soundtrack music and any voice-over narration.

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ACTIVITY . . . ■

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Look at a sequence of activity from a ﬁlm that is familiar to you. What genre codes and conventions are built into it? How are they conveyed? How is the sequence structured? What does this structure do in terms of storytelling? Under the micro headings of cinematography, editing, mise en scène, performance, and sound, list the significant features of this sequence. Do you notice that one heading has more features listed? Why do you think this is? Write out the cinematic ideas for the sequence you have looked at. Avoid re-telling the story. What macro aspects can you highlight? Which particular micro aspects are important?

THE SCREENPLAY Screenplay writing is a lengthy and complex process, with a feature ﬁlm taking anything from six weeks to six months of intensive work to produce a decent ﬁrst draft, and up to two years to get to a stage where the script could go into production. Importantly, it is the screenplay that sets all other activities in motion, from storyboarding, through casting, through production, distribution, and exhibition, to a spectator telling someone what a great (or lousy) ﬁlm they saw last night. Feature screenplays are largely broken down into ‘acts’ (units of action in which the story is following a particular path). The most common structures for screenplays revolve around either a three-act structure (beginning/establishing, middle/developing, end/concluding) or a five-act structure (set up, development, recognition, crisis, resolution), with each act broken up into sequences, which in turn are made up of scenes (small units of action, usually located in one place). Each scene, no matter how small can also be further broken down into set-up, development, and conclusion. Screenplays are inhabited by three-dimensional characters who have past histories, have ambitions, have problems, and have relationships. These characters have internal

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KEY TERM

CONTRAPUNTAL SOUND This is a great technique where the sound is not directly related to the image, but when placed together an additional meaning (or depth of meaning) is created. Thus the sound of a boxing match playing on a television in shot becomes more significant when the person watching the match walks into another room and begins beating an elderly person in there. The sound carried across from the television to the room where the beating is taking place is in counterpoint to the image of the abuse, yet serves to make a bigger statement about violence in general. It may be that a mix of contrapuntal sound and the diegetic sound of the beating may heighten this statement further.

aspects (beliefs, hopes, fears, dreams, opinions, etc.) that are shown through their external actions: the hardened ruthless criminal who stops to pick up and return a child’s dropped teddy bear; the cop whose hand shakes when he points his gun at a suspect; the doctor who unlocks the desk draw at the end of the day, pours a large whiskey, and stares at it without drinking. Internal characteristics, that are the essence of novel writing, are of no use to the screenwriter unless they can be externalized, unless they can become an action, a look, a gesture, or expression, which conveys this internal aspect. Whilst dialogue is a key feature of screenplay writing and of characterization, it is an aspect that is often over-relied on to ‘tell’ the story. Good screenplays do not tell the story. They ‘show’ the story through the actions and interactions of the characters populating them, and in doing so reveal more by relying on the audience to ‘ﬁll the blanks’. There are many forms to a screenplay but the most fall into a standard, industry-wide layout that indicates a professional approach:

12. EXT. LARGE EASTERN EUROPEAN SQUARE. DAY.

12.

The square is busy with people on their lunch hours, exiting the imposing embassy buildings, meeting friends, talking on mobiles, clutching their lunch bags, sitting at café tables, and rushing, forcing a sandwich down as they hurry through. SOLDIERS and POLICE in ones and twos also cross the square, but with more purpose. At either end of the row of embassies sits a sandbagged barricaded checkpoint through which a steady trickle of vehicles and pedestrians pass. MIKE HARRINGTON jumps the last three steps of the British Embassy, and nearly lands on COLONEL INCHALYKA, a heavy-set, hardened-faced, giant, who pats him gently away with his huge hands, tutting a caution.

MIKE HARRINGTON (apologetic) Less speed! Sorry Colonel!

The colonel smiles brieﬂy as he continues up the marble steps into the embassy. A brief flash from an upper-story window catches his eye and holds him momentarily. Shrugging it off he continues. Mike waits on the pavement as an Army APC rumbles past, crushing a Coke can with a BANG. Mike sees this, licks his lips, and crosses onto the Square, towards the café.

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The ﬁrst thing you should notice is that scenes are numbered consecutively through the screenplay, starting from scene 1. Sometimes if the writer intends the camera to follow the character from one location to another in a continuous movement then a sequence of scenes may be numbered 1a, 1b, etc. You will also notice that there are no speciﬁc camera instructions included in the script: camera decisions are not made by screenwriters – they are made by directors and directors of photography who interpret the ‘master scene script’. A good screenwriter will be able to write action to suggest a particular shot, which a good director or director of photography will be able to visualize from the description. In the PAL however, it is accepted that there may be a desire to indicate camera shots and angles, and delivering a ‘shooting script’ will not disadvantage you.

ACTIVITY . . . ■

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In the screenplay extract above what camera shots do you think the writer had in mind? How would you sequence the shots for the section involving Colonel Inchalyka? How would you sequence the shots for the section where the army APC is passing? In a group make up individual shot listings (LS, MS, CU, etc.) for the screenplay extract. Sequence the shots so that they ‘ﬂow’. Consider the timing of each shot, and the duration of the sequence as a whole. Compare sequences. Are there any individual shots that are the same (or roughly the same)? Are there any combinations of shots that are the same? Are the shot durations similar? Are the sequence durations similar? Can you account for any similarities?

The scene number is at the beginning of a line of essential information, called the ‘slug line’, which is always written in upper-case. Here, scene number is followed by the designation of INT (Interior) or EXT (Exterior), the location, and whether day or night (sometimes this may be more speciﬁc, but realistically this is simply an indication of what lighting set-up will be needed, and this falls easily into these two categories). It is important that slug line conventions are adhered to as these enable the production crew to do their jobs easily. Following the slug line comes the ‘action descriptor’. This usually consists of a few lines to ‘set the scene’, but in an activity scene such as the one above it may extend to several paragraphs or even a whole scene. Within this character names are capitalized for their first appearance, but are in lower-case after that. Background characters remain in lower-case unless they are signiﬁcant to the scene (such as the soldiers and the police). When characters are introduced for the ﬁrst time they are usually accompanied by a brief physical description. This is only repeated subsequently when there has been a dramatic change (when Mike Harrington later emerges from the ruins of the bombed embassy for example).

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The action descriptor should try to capture not only the look of the scene (in terms of mise en scène, lighting, and general mood), but the sound also, and speciﬁc sounds that are important are also capitalized as a clue for the sound crew to ensure they are included (the Coke can popping with a BANG is an example of this). Screenwriters should always be wary of writing something that cannot be physically expressed – a thought for example. In the extract above Mike looks at the Coke can exploding, licks his lips, and then moves towards the café. From this the audience can infer his thirst. Other than inferring this, the only other way to tell the audience he is thirsty would be for Mike to have a conversation with someone about it (with someone as opposed to with himself, which is really the worst kind of exposition). Dialogue is always separated from action description by a double space and is always indented (set in from the margins at each end) to ensure it is seen as dialogue and not description. The speaker’s name is always centred and capitalized, and may have an indication of the tone of the speech centred underneath, bracketed and in italics. Speech itself should always be short – listen to a conversation in progress and you will discover that it is full of interruptions, digressions, unfinished sentences, pauses, etc. You should see from the screenplay extract that dialogue may be kept fairly limited in an activity sequence, since it is the action that will carry the scene and the information. Already the audience has a sense of who Colonel Inchalyka is, and what he is like, purely from his reaction to a teenager nearly colliding with him. His internal aspects are revealed through his external actions, and more specifically this is in an incident that is relatively inconsequential to the story or plot of the film. Colonel Inchalyka is introduced here in a sequence whose sole purpose is to introduce him and indicate that he is known to Mike Harrington (and hence probably signiﬁcant to the later development of the plot). Without the need to introduce this character, and without the need to introduce a relationship, the sequence of Mike jumping down the steps of the embassy could be cut.

ACTIVITY . . . ■

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Consider how Colonel Inchalyka was introduced in the screenplay extract. What do you learn about him, both physically and in terms of character? Does his physical appearance inﬂuence the view of his character? At what other points in the scene could Colonel Inchalyka have been introduced? Choose one and re-write the sequence. What difference has it made to the meaning(s) produced by the sequence? Has it changed what is learnt about the colonel? Has it changed the relationship between the colonel and Mike?

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THE STORYBOARD The purpose of the storyboard is to photograph or draw out each and every shot of a film with a list of key information written underneath, so that a director can see how the finished film will look before a single frame is shot. This allows him or her to calculate the technical requirements of a shoot, and gives an opportunity for the director to revise sequences that seemed like a good approach when thinking the story through, but seem less possible or less appropriate with pictures in place. The storyboard is made up from a set of ‘standard’ shot sizes each with an accompanying abbreviation: ECU or BCU: extreme or big close up So close that only part of the subject is in view (eyes, mouth, etc.).

CU: close up Close enough to see detail on a subject without losing a sense of the subject as a whole (chest to top of head).

MS: mid shot Describes a position somewhere between LS and CU (waist to top of head).

LS: long shot Usually describing a subject where you can see all of it in shot (head to toe if it is a person).

ELS: extreme long shot Describing a subject that is placed well within its setting. In the case of a person could be a little beyond LS and out to inﬁnity (most of the opening of Lawrence of Arabia is in ELS).

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Between these shot descriptors are a range of other shots (such as MLS and MCU) which help to describe the photographed or drawn images, and which help the production crew make sense of the requirements for a shoot. Other abbreviations and terms that are likely to be found on a storyboard include: H/A

High angle

Track/dolly

Move camera on wheeled platform

L/A

Low angle

Crab

Sideways move

POV

Point of view

Pull focus

Change what is focused on

2-shot

Two people in shot

Fade

Shot fades in/out

OTS

Over the shoulder

Dissolve

Shot fades out as another fades in underneath

This terminology offers an industry shorthand that enables all the crew to use the same document to relate their part of the process to an overall objective. Apart from a picture and the camera descriptions, the storyboard should also contain other relevant information such as: Shot number Each shot in the storyboard must be numbered so that the intended sequence of shots can be followed. Although this is only a minor detail it can have serious consequences for shooting and editing if it is not adhered to. Action A brief description of what is happening in the shot allows one frame to be used for the whole shot, even though there may be much movement within the shot. If it is radically different from beginning of the shot to the end, or if there is camera movement that results in radically different framing, then the shot may be drawn across a number of storyboard frames (numbered a, b, c, etc.). Camera This should not only indicate shot size and angle but should also give a clear sense of what is being framed. Dialogue Single lines may be written but for longer speeches just the ﬁrst and last few words covered by the shot are included to save space (Morgan: ‘Hell no, I’d never . . . no sir, never!’) Sound FX This indicates specific sounds that will stand out against the general soundscape; ones that the makers wish to draw attention to. Sound atmos The overall background ‘atmosphere’ of a fictionalized location is important in capturing the nature of the place. Sound music This relates largely to non-diegetic music; the soundtrack that has been placed on the ﬁlm to create an emotional response. It may include diegetic music if it transforms into non-diegetic sound. Shot duration This is a vital piece of information as it gives the storyboard rhythm and indicates that the filmmakers have considered the shot-to-shot relationships and the overall relationship of individual shots to the timing of the ﬁlm as a whole. It is important not only to be able to calculate how long an action may take, but also how long it should take on screen.

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ACTIVITY . . . ■ ■ ■ ■ ■ ■

Look at a one-minute-long ﬁlm extract that you are familiar with. Using the list above analyse the way the extract has been constructed. What do you notice about the way in which shot size and angle varies? What do you notice about the way each shot deals with movement within the frame? Generally what framing is used for dialogue? How are sound FX, atmos, and music related? What does the combination achieve? Is there a rhythm to the extract? Do you notice anything about the timings? Do they relate to the shot sizes? What does the rhythm do for the extract?

On pages 108 and 109 you will see two storyboarded extracts from The Crossing, one photographed and one drawn. It should become clear how the pictures and text support each other and how they aid the construction of meaning. VIDEO PRODUCTION Essentially the making of a video sequence can be divided into three distinct areas: pre-production (planning), production (shooting) and post-production (editing). Both scripting and storyboarding come into the pre-production stage, and so can be seen as primary functions that have to occur before any other pre-production stage can happen. Pre-production Even a short sequence can take an enormous amount of planning, and the time involved in organizing a shoot should not be underestimated. Other than scripting and storyboarding the essential tasks in pre-production are casting, location scouting, budgeting, scheduling, and rehearsing. If each one is carefully managed, then it is likely that the shoot will go relatively smoothly. If one area is ignored, then it can easily impede or even prove disastrous for a shoot. ■

Casting: the difficulties of finding any actors yet alone talented ones are well understood, but there are some things that can be done to mitigate against circumstance. First it is important to get the right person for the right role – no point in casting a 17-year-old as the aging father of a 15-year-old – and the right ‘look’ can cover many casting problems. If possible look to performing arts groups, or local amateur dramatics companies, as they will have had some acting experience, though not necessarily for the cinematic medium. Try to ensure there is real choice in casting and that it is not done merely as an exercise in ﬁrst come ﬁrst served.

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Sound music: N/A Shot duration: (2 seconds)

Sound atmos: City square Shot duration: (3 seconds)

Camera: H/A ECU Colonel Inchalyka’s eyes scan the building’s windows. Dialogue: N/A Sound FX: N/A

Action: Colonel Inchalyka scans the building from where the ﬂash came. Seeing nothing he hesitates, then shrugs it off.

Action: The ﬂash catches Colonel Inchalyka’s eyes and he looks up to the window. Camera: MS (side) Colonel Inchalyka on embassy steps Dialogue: N/A Sound FX: N/A Sound atmos: City square

Shot no. 11

Shot no. 10

Figure 5.1 Three storyboard video shots Source: Freddie Gaffney

Shot duration: (2 seconds)

Dialogue: N/A Sound FX: N/A Sound atmos: City square Sound music: N/A

Shot no. 9 Action: There is slight movement behind the open window. Sunlight catches something inside and a reﬂection ﬂashes brieﬂy out. Camera: L/A LS window

Sound music: Low orchestral (under)

Shot duration: (6 seconds)

Figure 5.2 Three storyboard sketch shots Source: Freddie Gaffney

Dialogue: N/A Sound FX: Machine-gun ﬁre Sound atmos: Panicked city square

Shot No.: 23 Action: The American businessman shelters behind an overturned table as the machine-gun ﬁre rattles around him Camera: MS (side) American businessman sits huddled against the underside of an overturned table.

Dialogue: N/A Sound FX: LOUD machine-gun ﬁre Sound atmos: Panicked city square Sound music: Low orchestral (under)

Action: A gangster stands on a table spraying the square with bullets. Camera: MCU (front) gangster ﬁring from left to right, shells ejecting sideways. SLO-MO

Shot no.: 22

Shot duration: (6 seconds)

Sound music: Rising orchestral (under)

Sound FX: Distant machine-gun ﬁre ending with loud retort of single riﬂe shot Sound atmos: Distant panicked city square

Camera: H/A LS ZOOM, PAN WITH, DE-FOCUS, and RE-FOCUS to CU back of American businessman’s head, looking rapidly around. CUT TO BLACK. Dialogue: N/A

Shot no.: 24 Action: The American businessman shelters nervously behind a table, desperately looking for a way out of the carnage.

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Location scouting: many productions are marred by using the wrong, or inappropriate locations, and again, with some foresight and preparation this should never be a problem. Discussions with the screenwriter at an early stage can head off script decisions that are almost certain to prove a location nightmare – outside a spaceship in mid-ﬂight; a Transylvanian castle; inside the cabin of a commercial jet airliner, etc. However, with a little effort one location can become another: a local church can become the Vatican with some Italian signage, some Latin hymns added in, and a couple of extras speaking Italian in the background. Locations that are secured should be confirmed with time and date, preferably in writing, and preferably at least a week in advance of shooting. Budgeting: this is not an essential component of this task, but it is worth remembering that in group productions money is often the source of argument, so it may be worth establishing a budget from the start, and establishing who is going to contribute what to it. If the budget starts to run away from the production, then it is important that this is brought to everyone’s attention as soon as possible. Scheduling: a well scheduled shoot is one where everyone knows when and where they are supposed to be, how long they will be there, and what they are supposed to be doing. It is wise to ensure that a schedule over-estimates the amount of time it takes to travel to a location, and the amount of time the shoot itself will take – people will thank you if they ﬁnish early, but curse you for running late. On average a production should be able to shoot between 12–18 well crafted, considered shots per eight-hour day on location, and usually slightly less if they are in the studio or have signiﬁcant lighting set-ups. It is worth spending some time preparing ‘call-sheets’ for cast and crew, detailing daily arrangements and contact information. Rehearsing: the area least likely to be considered is possibly one of the most important. Rehearsals are not only a way of working the script through with actors, but they are also a way of ensuring a production team gets into the rhythm of working with each other.

Production Production is unquestionably a team effort, and it is essential that each team member has a deﬁned role and area of responsibility. A small crew is likely to have the following production roles: ■

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Director: responsible for the overall construction of the work and for ensuring that both actors and crew perform to their best. The dual role means that the primary responsibility of getting the actors to deliver a performance is matched by the need to direct the crew to ensure that this performance is captured in the best possible manner. The director is likely to choose performance as a focus area, but may also look to mise en scène in structuring the ‘look’ of a ﬁnished sequence. Cinematographer or director of photography: is responsible for capturing the image to ﬁlm (or more likely tape), and will be focused on camera and lighting (though again may focus on mise en scène). The skill here is in manipulating camera controls and lighting techniques to create (and enhance) the director’s vision.

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Art director: directly responsible for set dressing, set design, props and costume, and as such entirely focused on mise en scène. Sound recordist: responsible both for location sound and for providing sound intended for post-production. On set it is likely that the job will simply involve recording the purest sound possible, and being cautious of outside noise: planes ﬂying overhead, trafﬁc, neighbours arguing, etc..

There are some basic shooting rules that it is wise to adhere to even if they are not fully understood at this level, in order to produce material that is usable and most importantly editable. With a minimum structure in place shooting becomes a less stressful process, and the results are dramatically improved. However ignoring the simple rules of production leads to material that simply will not cut together, and well planned shoots, with all the accompanying effort, being ruined.

NOTEBOX . . . Basic shooting rules 1

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Always use a tripod to support the camera, unless you have a speciﬁc reason for wanting the shaky look that hand-held will give you. This can be dynamic in certain situations (chase sequences for example) but often it simply makes a production seem lazy or amateurish. If something is wrong in shot, call ‘Cut’ and re-take the shot. If you accept a shot that has problems, then that will be the shot that creates problems for you in post-production. Always adhere to the 30° rule. This states that to avoid ‘jump cuts’ (where the camera appears to lurch towards a subject or the subject appears to ‘jump’ position between shots) any shots that are intended to be joined with each other in editing should be shot from camera positions that have at least 30° between them. Avoid cutting whilst in mid-camera movement – let the shot come to a ‘rest’ position as this will beneﬁt the editing. Let the camera run for ﬁve seconds prior to calling ‘Action’ and after calling ‘Cut’. This not only serves the editing, but it also gives some ‘moments’ where the actors’ bodies and expressions are relaxed – these are often valuable.

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Always adhere to the 180° rule. This rule is often complex to understand and even more complex to implement. The ‘line of action’ is an imaginary line – usually between two people, but it can run through one person – that the camera must stay one side of. The camera can travel anywhere on a 180° axis as long as it does not ‘cross the line’; as soon as it does that then all spatial continuity is lost and editing becomes an exercise in confusion.

Post-production Modern post-production is invariably carried out on a non-linear computer system (most commonly Avid, Final Cut, Pinnacle and Premiere) which ingests digitized material (and on some systems analogue material), and facilitates not only basic assembly editing, but the addition of effects, sound editing, and the use of corrective tools such as grading. It is likely that a single editor will work through the shot material to produce a ﬁnal cut of the sequence, and may be working from a storyboard, or more actively with a director. The editor’s role is one that should be governed by process in order for him or her to maximize creativity. This process involves digitizing material and importing it into the chosen editing programme; adding clips to a timeline to construct the sequence; trimming clips to tighten the sequence; laying audio tracks; laying any necessary video and audio effects; correcting any shot-to-shot problems (such as colour correction); creating title and credit sequences; and ﬁnally dubbing the ﬁnished product off to disc or tape. Editors have a range of creative options open to them that determine the nature of the ﬁnished piece. Like all options these should be used sparingly to enhance the sequence and only when appropriate.

NOTEBOX . . . Basic options in editing Dissolve: an image fades out as another fades in, making a connection between the two (girlfriend fades out as mother fades in). Fade: often to black but can be to any colour. The duration of screen time given over to the fade and the end colour can suggest particular meanings. Graphic match: two shots can be connected through shapes within the frame (a clock matched to a car wheel).

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Match on action: two shots can be connected by the replication of an action across each (character begins putting drink down in seedy Soho bar, and cuts to drink reaching bar counter of Caribbean beach bar). Montage: placing one image next to another creates meaning (person’s face with apple pie = hungry, person’s face with cofﬁn = sadness).

EVALUATION The area of a PAL that is often weakest is the evaluation, and like the cinematic ideas section it too can benefit from careful development, editing, and drafting. The evaluation should consider both process and product, and should show a clear awareness of the audience and their reaction(s) to the ﬁnished work, and should do this in approximately 500 words. It is often worthwhile stating who the intended audience was for the sequence, as this then allows some element of testing (letting a representative of that audience – family member, friend, teacher – see the ﬁnished piece and express their responses to it) and then some reﬂection on their responses. This in turn can lead to a consideration of intended meanings and their production, which then focuses the piece on process and techniques. A personal response to the work can make a suitable conclusion to the evaluation.

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Show your ﬁnished screenplay/storyboard/ﬁlm to a group of people who are representative of your target audience. Try (if appropriate) to get a wide range of ages, genders, and social groupings. Get them to discuss the work as a group, and shape the discussion with reference to the macro and micro focus of the piece. Revise the work in the light of their comments. Des